Dodgers: Pass or pursue on the 10 biggest free agents this offseason
By Jason Reed
4. RHP Yu Darvish
It still hurts. The World Series loss still hurts, a lot, and Yu Darvish was right at the center of it. The Los Angeles Dodgers went all in on the 2017 World Series and traded for Darvish at the deadline. Los Angeles sent the Texas Rangers a prospect package highlighted by Willie Calhoun, their fourth best prospect at the time.
Darvish had his ups and downs as a Dodger, but once October hit, looked unhittable. Darvish threw 11.1 combined innings leading up to the World Series, allowing just two runs and striking out 14.
Then the World Series happened. The same trade deadline piece that was supposed to skyrocket the Dodgers to win the World Series was the same piece that arguably lost the series. Darvish struggled in two starts, ultimately allowing nine runs in 3.1 innings to the tune of a 21.60 ERA.
Now, Darvish is at a crossroads in his career. Darvish is a free agent for the first time in his MLB career, and has no real “best fit”. While he has said nice things about the Dodgers’ organization, the problem lies that the organization itself may not want Darvish after his World Series performance.
Spotrac values Darvish’s salary at $21.9 million next season. That may be too much for the Dodgers after the World Series. So, if Darvish will take a pay cut or take a short-term deal with team options it could. If not, it would be best to part ways.