The Cubs have made it known Yu Darvish is available, and these five teams should consider making a deal for him.
It didn’t take the revenue hit of the shortened 2020 season for the Chicago Cubs to be headed for an offseason of tough decisions and a reduction in payroll. Trade speculation is abound (Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, etc.), and the latest is significant. On Monday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported reigning NL Cy Young runner-up Yu Darvish has been made available in trade talks.
Cubs ace Yu Darvish seems out there in trade talks, but it may be an example of a willingness to consider anything. And, off 2nd place Cy finish plus big 2nd half in ‘19, 1 exec rates trade chance as “very low,” and 1 uninvolved rival exec, guessed this on the ask: “Babe Ruth?”
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 21, 2020
Darvish is halfway into his six-year, $126 million deal with the Cubs. More specifically, he’s due $59 million over the next three seasons with a no-trade clause. So if the Cubs want to reduce payroll, for 2021 and a couple years past, moving Darvish would be a big step toward getting it done.
Darvish followed a strong second half of 2019 (2.76 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 16.9 K/BB over 13 starts) with a good showing in the truncated 2020 campaign (2.01 ERA, 2.23 FIP, 11.0 K/9. 1.7 BB/9). There’s an argument, as he enters his age-35 season, the Cubs should sell high.
Darvish reacted to his name surfacing in trade speculation.
— ダルビッシュ有(Yu Darvish) (@faridyu) December 21, 2020
The market for Darvish feels narrow, with the money he’s due, his age and the player/prospect cost in a deal as huge factors. That said, these five teams can make a case to trade for him.
5 teams who should trade for Yu Darvish
The Blue Jays seem inclined to be aggressive this offseason, as a prominent rumored suitor for free agents George Springer and D.J. LeMahieu in particular right now. After making the playoffs in 2020, general manager Ross Atkins hinted at a significant move this offseason.
“I think we are in a position where we could add to this team with talent that is condensed in one player and a super high impact,” he said. “We’re going to continue to think about how we can build upon this group, and hopefully it’s both complementary as well as making as making a really high impact.”
The Blue Jays could bring Darvish north of the border with a deal that looks like this.