The Rangers have won exclusive negotiating rights for Yu Darvish with a record $51.7 million posting fee.

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, the Rangers have won exclusive negotiating rights for Yu Darvish with a record $51.7 million posting fee.

by Matt S.

It’s now official. The bid tops the previous posting fee record ($51,111,111) the Red Sox paid for exclusive negotiating rights with Daisuke Matsuzaka back in 2006. While recent buzz suggested that the Blue Jays were the favorites, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that the Rangers were the top bidders, as general manager Jon Daniels scouted Darvish in person this past season. The 25-year-old right-hander is believed to be seeking a five-year deal in the range of $75 million, which would push the total investment north of $120 million. If the two sides can come to an agreement in the next 30 days, Darvish will join a Texas rotation which will include some combination of Derek Holland, Colby Lewis, Alexi Ogando, Matt Harrison and Neftali Feliz.

Source: Jeff Passan on Twitter

The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters have “definitely” decided to accept the top bid for Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish

The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters have “definitely” decided to accept the top bid for Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish

by Matt S.

Not a surprise. The Nippon-Ham Fighters are expected to announce the winning bid late Monday night (U.S. time). Franz Lidz of Sports Illustrated reported over the weekend that the winning bid will end up topping the record $51.1 million posting fee that the Red Sox paid for exclusive negotiating rights with Daisuke Matsuzaka back in 2006. Most consider the Blue Jays and Rangers the favorites for the winning bid.

 

Source: Danny Knobler on Twitter

Yoenis Cespedes could be granted residency in the Dominican Republic this week

Yoenis Cespedes could be granted residency in the Dominican Republic this week

by Matt S.

“We’ll hear about it tomorrow [Tuesday]. We are confident that Yoenis will receive his documents this week”, said Edgar Mercedes, Cespedes’ representative in the Dominican Republic. While being granted residency is an important step, Cespedes will still have to get clearance from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control before being able to sign with an MLB team. Mercedes acknowledged to Rojas that the process won’t be complete until January. However, the slight delay shouldn’t have any impact on his list of potential suitors, which includes the Yankees, Marlins, Cubs and Tigers.

Source: ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com

Morning Bits: Darvish, Cashman

Good Morning all.  Most likely could be a quiet news week besides the news of what team Darvish goes to this week.   Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

Let’s get right to the links….

*  Yankees are most likely not getting Japanese star Yu Darvish.

* Grading Cashman’s off-season.

* 10 struggling players the Yankees have turned around.