Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo made it clear last month that his goals for the upcoming offseason are signing or trading for a center fielder who ideally bats leadoff and adding another starting pitcher to the rotation. That doesn’t necessarily mean signing a free agent, however. Players like C.J. Wilson (Texas Rangers) or even — if he opts out of his contract with the Yankees — CC Sabathia could be available. Both would look great next to Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann. But there’s another way to add depth to the rotation: international signings.
The consensus best pitcher in Japan right now is Yu Darvish, the Iranian-Japanese right-hander who has a career ERA of 2.12 in Nippon Professional Baseball. Darvish reportedly has hired American agent Arn Tellem to represent him, and his club team, the Nippon-Ham Fighters, likely will post Darvish. That means a major league club will have to pay the Japanese team just for the right to negotiate a contract.
“Yu Darvish is a player, specifically, that has a great talent level. We’ve scouted him over the years. I’ve scouted him personally over the years,” Rizzo said. “Our pro scouts have scouted him this year specifically. … As we’ve always said, we’re open to acquire talent in every way, shape or form that we can.”
That’s a pretty noncommittal answer. But considering the Nats give up their first-round pick if they sign an elite North American free agent like Sabathia or Wilson, it might make financial sense to go after Darvish. And remember, this is the same club that thought it had Cuban reliever Aroldis Chapman locked up two years ago only to lose out to the Cincinnati Reds in a bidding war.
– Brian McNally
