#MLB Rangers Win Rights to Yu Darvish; Reportedly Bid Record $51.7 Million

The Texas Rangers posted the highest bid for Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish and that bid was accepted by Darvish’s team in Japan, Major League Baseball announced Monday night.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels would not say how much the Rangers posting bid was, but sources said it was around $51.7 million. Bidding for the posting fee closed last Wednesday, and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters had until 5 p.m. EST on Tuesday to accept.

The club has 30 days to negotiate with Darvish and his representatives. Should they not reach an agreement in that allotted time, the Fighters will not receive the posting fee and Darvish will pitch in Japan next season.

“Our ownership went the extra mile on this one,” Daniels said on a conference call late Monday.

The 25-year-old right-hander is considered the best pitcher in the Japanese professional leagues and several of baseball’s biggest spenders were thought to be interested in him.

Various reports before MLB’s announcement had the fee close to or possibly more than the $51.1 million the Boston Red Sox bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka prior to the 2007 season. The club still has to pay Darvish a contract, meaning the total investment will likely top $100 million.

If the Rangers can close the deal, Darvish would join a rotation that already includes five starters: Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, Alexi Ogando and former closer Neftali Feliz, moved out of the bullpen when the club signed free-agent reliever Joe Nathan this offseason.

“If we’re able to sign him (Darvish), then we’ll have a very good problem on our hands,” Daniels said.

Darvish is represented by Don Nomura and Arn Tellem.

“We were pleased to learn that the Texas Rangers were the high bidders for Yu Darvish,” Tellem said in a statement. “The Rangers are an extraordinary franchise in an exceptional city with equally exceptional fans. Yu is honored to be prized so highly and recognized as a once-in-a-generation pitcher. We look forward to getting negotiations under way.”

In an earlier statement, the Rangers said they were “pleased and excited” to win the rights to negotiate with Darvish.

“Our organization has scouted Mr. Darvish for the last several years and has been very impressed with his abilities and accomplishments. We believe he would be a great addition to the Texas Rangers pitching staff,” the team said. “We look forward to beginning the next step of this process in the very near future.”

(STORY CONTINUES…)
WRITTEN BY Richard Durrett covers the Rangers for ESPNDallas.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report & FULL STORY HERE