Yu Darvish is no longer a Texas Ranger.
One of the league’s most electric starting pitchers and enigmatic personalities was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers as the dust settled from Monday’s 3 p.m. CT trade deadline.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports the Rangers will receive 2nd baseman Willie Calhoun, pitcher A.J. Alexy and infielder Brendon Davis. Calhoun is considered one of the best 100 prospects in baseball.
The 3:00 trade deadline passed without word of a Darvish deal, leading many to believe he was staying put. Darvish himself tweeted from the Rangers locker room at 2:50. Rangers GM Jon Daniels said the deal was finalized within 10 minutes of the deadline, but wasn't announced immediately so the Dodgers prospects could be informed of the deal.
10min!! pic.twitter.com/gwP7qwvh8d
— ダルビッシュ有(Yu Darvish) (@faridyu) July 31, 2017
By 3:10, the Rangers would not confirm they had kept their ace. Shortly afterward, Rosenthal announced Darvish had been dealt, with paperwork being processed at the league office.
Darvish compiled a 52-39 record with a 3.42 ERA and 960 strikeouts in 782 innings over five years with Texas -- and that’s without a ton of help. Much has been written about the lack of run support he’s received throughout his tenure with the Rangers, and the team’s 15-40 record in low-scoring games with Darvish on the bump.
His 6-9 record in 2017, despite giving up three or fewer runs in 17 of 22 starts, is evidence of that.
The 30-year-old missed the entire 2015 season and half of 2016 after having Tommy John surgery in March of 2015.
Darvish’s first big league contract -- a six-year, $60 million deal signed after the Rangers won the international bid in 2012 -- is up at the end of this year. In theory, he could re-sign with Texas in the offseason (like bigtime closer Aroldis Chapman did with the Yankees this offseason after being dealt to the Cubs for their postseason run last year). But he’ll come with a hefty price tag: Think in the $25-30 million per year range.
