The Texas Rangers reportedly began the process of gauging the trade market for Yu Darvish, and their timing could not have been any better. He dominated the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night to the tune of 12 strikeouts over eight innings.
The Rays managed three runs on five hits against Darvish, and fell 4-3. Assuming Darvish is available he immediately vaults to the top of starters on the trading block, even as a potential rental.
Multiple teams, including the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers, are believed to have some level of interest in acquiring a starting pitcher.
According to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports, the Astros, Dodgers and Chicago Cubs had scouts in attendance for Darvish’s latest outing:
Sources: #Dodgers, #Cubs among teams scouting Yu Darvish in St. Petersburg tonight. He struck out 12 in 8 IP. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 22, 2017
#Astros scouted Yu Darvish's start last night, sources say. Team is tracking all major rotation trade candidates. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 22, 2017
Acquiring Darvish could prove difficult for the Cubs as are they included in his limited no-trade clause, per Jim Bowden of Sirius XM:
Yu Darvish #Rangers has a limited no-trade clause: Cubs,Indians,Oak,Bal,Bos,Det,Cws, Tor,Pit, Col #SXMSports
— Jim Bowden (@Jim_BowdenSXM) July 21, 2017
The Cubs already addressed their starting rotation ahead of the July 31 non-waiver deadline by completing a trade with the Chicago White Sox for Jose Quintana. Chicago nonetheless has been connected to Chris Archer and Sonny Gray, among others.
The Dodgers have generally been positioned as having their primary focus on trading for a left-handed reliever. Their rotation is led by Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood and Rich Hill, but recent question marks have surrounded Kenta Maeda and Brandon McCarthy.
If Los Angeles were to trade for a starter, they presumably would target a right-hander. Darvish, or another pitcher who’s eligible for free agency this winter may be a long shot however, given Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s reluctance to deal assets for a short-term solution.
