By Jordan Long
The Chicago Cubs bolstered their starting rotation. They agreed to a 6-year $126 million contract with starting pitcher Yu Darvish. The deal is pending a physical.
The Cubs were hoping to re-sign Jake Arrieta this offseason. This past weekend the Cubs tried to give him a 6-year deal but Arreita turned it down. The Cubs decided to sign Yu Darvish to fulfill their starting rotation.
Darvish will be entering his 6th MLB season. Last year he pitched for the L.A. Dodgers and the Texas Rangers. He went 10-12 with a 3.86 ERA. Darvish struck out 209 batters but had trouble with his command walking 58 batters and giving up 27 home runs. The Dodgers won the National League West with a record of 104-58.
In the playoffs for the Dodgers, Darvish started in 4 games and went 2-2 with a 6.14 ERA. He didn’t look comfortable in the playoff spotlight. Darvish left the ball up in the zone and hitters made him pay with 4 home runs. Despite his struggles the Dodgers went all the way to the World Series before falling to the Houston Astros in 7 games.
The Cubs needed another arm in the rotation. They already have Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, and Jose Quintana. All of them can win 10 to 15 games this upcoming season. They were missing a 4th starting pitcher. With Darvish the rotation is set.
Darvish will help the Cubs this season. He can be in the middle of the rotation. Darvish can also win 10 to 15 games this year. His career record is 56-42. He will strike batters out. In spring training he must work on his command. Darvish had trouble with the strike zone and walking batters. A walked batter can spell trouble. Darvish can’t have many of them this season.
The Cubs are overpaying for Darvish but they had to. If they didn’t another baseball team would have signed him. Darvish is looking to help the Cubs make the postseason for the 4th year in a row. The Cubs are in decent position to make it again. Hopefully they go further than the National League Championship Series this upcoming season.
What do you think of the Chicago Cubs agreeing to a large contract with Yu Darvish?
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