Report: Yu Darvish Signs Six-Year Deal Worth $126M With Cubs
Japanese ace Yu Darvish has reportedly agreed to a six-year deal with the Cubs pending a physical, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.
Rosenthal reported the the six-year guarantee is worth $126 million with the ability to get $150 million. But Rosenthal said the chances of reaching $150 million is slim as he would need to win multiple Cy Young awards. The guarantee is the longest and richest free-agent deal this off-season.
FanRag Sport's Jon Heyman reported the Dodgers offered a similar deal as the Cubs, but Darvish chose Chicago.
Darvish was one of the top starting pitchers in this year's free agent class. He is coming off a season in which he went 10–12 with a 3.86 ERA for the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers. He played a big role n the Dodgers' run to the World Series but was shelled by the Houston Astros in both his outings. It was later revealed by Sports Illustrated that Darvish was tipping his pitches to Astros hitters by the way he brought the ball into the set position.
The right-hander met with Chicago Cubs executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer on Dec. 18 for a meeting that lasted more than three hours. Darvish did not use an interpreter during the meeting because he wanted to sharpen his English. Darvish won one of the four games in the Dodgers' National League Championship Series Series against the Cubs.
