Rangers, Yu Just Got Better

The Texas Rangers have showed they believed in Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish. First, they paid $51.7 million to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, Darvish's team, just to talk to him. Then, they let their staff ace, C.J. Wilson, sign with their division rivals, the Los Angeles Angels. Finally, today they agreed to a contract with Darvish that will pay him approximately $60 million over the next six years.

So some of you might be asking, "Who is Yu Darvish?" Darvish is 25-year-pitcher from Japan. Last season, he was 18-6 with a league-best 1.44 ERA and 276 strikeouts. He only walked 36 batters in 232 innings. He also looked great in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2009 World Baseball Classic. Scouts are impressed by his fastball control and what is considered to be a seven-pitch repertoire, which includes basically everything except a changeup.

Many people are making comparison between Darvish and the Boston Red Sox's Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dice-K pitched well his first two seasons, but has struggled the past three seasons with injuries and inconsistency. I think there is two sides to that coin. It is unfair to compare him to Matsuzaka based on the fact that they are completely different pitchers. Darvish stands 6-5 and 220 pounds, which decreases the likeliness of him wearing down. However, I think it is a fair comparison in the fact that both pitchers are coming from playing only in Japan. Matsuzaka had success, but MLB hitters seem to have figured him out. Will the same happen with Darvish? It is certainly possible.

The Rangers allowed the ace of their staff to leave to their rival organization. Then, they spent a combined $111.7 million dollars on a pitcher who has never thrown a pitch in a Major League Baseball game. They took a risk to say the least. Will it be a good one? We are just going to have to wait and see. I'm not surprised they let Wilson go after his struggles in the postseason. However, I am somewhat surprised they spent so much on only a potentially good pitcher. Rangers fans should understand two things about their club based on this signing. First, they are going to be willing to spend money and lots of it. Second, they know the importance of good pitching and thought enough of their team to spend money now to upgrade their staff now. Now, it is up to Darvish to see how his play translates to MLB. The Rangers need him to be as great as they think he will be. This is a decision we are going to look back on down the road.