The Rangers, with their committed ownership group signaling full-speed ahead, are on the clock with Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish and have 30 days to sign him to a Major League contract.
The Rangers earned the right to negotiate with Darvish by submitting a winning bid of approximately $51.7 million that was accepted by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
With the winning bid, the Rangers have 30 days to sign Darvish to a Major League contract. The deadline is 4 p.m. CT on Jan. 18. If they can't sign Darvish by then, he returns to the Fighters and the Rangers do not lose the $51.7 million posting fee.
The Rangers go into the process fully committed to signing Darvish, a 25-year-old right-handed pitcher who is considered one of the best pitchers to ever attempt to make the transition from Japan to the Major Leagues.
The Rangers released the following statement, "The Texas Rangers are pleased and excited to have acquired the rights to negotiate with Yu 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. We look forward to beginning the next step of this process in the very near future with Mr. Darvish and his representatives, Arn Tellem and Don Nomura."
Darvish was 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA and 276 strikeouts in 28 games for the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2011. He pitched 232 innings and it was his fifth straight season with an ERA under 2.00. He has won three strikeout and two ERA titles in Japan. He has also twice been named the Most Valuable Player of the Pacific League.
