Rangers Sign Pitcher Yu Darvish To Six-Year Deal
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KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images(ARLINGTON, Texas) — After losing top-of-the-rotation starters Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson in consecutive seasons, the Texas Rangers decided it was time to bring in a quality starting pitcher. The team has agreed to a six-year, $60 million contract with Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish.
The Rangers had until Wednesday to sign the 25-year-old pitcher, 30 days after the team put up a $51.7 million posting bid just to negotiate a contract for him. In total, the Rangers spent $111 million for Darvish, more than the Boston Red Sox spent when they signed pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2007. He will be in Arlington on Friday for a press conference.
“We saw a guy who we felt was built to pitch innings and has a classic pitcher’s build,” Rangers general manager John Daniels said. “He has a real commitment to his conditioning and work ethic. We think he can pitch innings at a high caliber for a large amount of time.”
Last season in Japan, Darvish went 18-6 with a league-best 1.44 ERA and 276 strikeouts. He also walked just 36 batters he faced in 232 innings.
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