As we all know, the hot stove has been rather cold this offseason. Scott Boras, agent extraordinaire, stated that this free agent market is about six weeks behind schedule. Almost all the big name free agents are still on the market as we have now entered February. We once thought that Giancarlo Stanton was holding teams up as they waited for him to move, but that does not seem to be the case as he was traded over six weeks ago.
Yu Darvish is one of the top three free agents still on the market, and he is expecting a big payday despite his World Series collapse. He has been connected to several teams, Milwaukee included. Here is a look as to why the Brewers may make sense for Darvish more than any other team.
The Brewers are hunting
Milwaukee had a very exciting season last year despite not making the postseason. The Cubs were coming off a historic World Series and were primed to continue their dominance. Nobody saw what was coming from the team just north of the north-siders from Chicago.
The Brewers had the lowest payroll in baseball in 2017, yet competed with the Cubs until the very end. Now that they know they have what it takes to compete, it is time to build up and go for it.
The Brewers showed last week just how serious they are about competing. The signing of Lorenzo Cain was one of the biggest free agent moves of the offseason thus far. Not but on the same night, they also traded for the last Marlins outfielder left, Christian Yelich.
The move for Yelich was a good one. Yelich had the most team-friendly contract in that Marlins outfield from 2017, and he shows signs of getting even better. The only thing is that the Brewers gave up their top prospect, and the No. 13 overall prospect in baseball, Lewis Brinson. On top of that, they gave up three other young talents from their system. This move shows just how serious they are about competing now.
The need for pitching
One of Milwaukee’s biggest surprises of last season was the performance of Jimmy Nelson. Nelson has solidified himself at the top of the rotation in along with Chase Anderson.
The only thing is that he damaged his shoulder last September. Nelson is apparently ahead of schedule, but it is unknown when he will be ready to rejoin the rotation.
The Brewers offense looks like a strong one at the moment. With the emergence of Eric Thames and Travis Shaw, coupled with the new improvements to the outfield, Milwaukee has an offense to be feared. An addition to the rotation could compliment these improvements very well.
This is where Darvish comes in. The 31-year-old would fit perfectly into the team and could slide them right into a neck-and-neck competition with the Cubs. The addition of Jhoulys Chacin certainly helps, but Darvish would really solidify their position and make their rotation a strength as well.
Will Darvish go for it?
Darvish has not been afraid to address rumors on Twitter. There have been several instances of him responding to reports of him talking to teams and alluding to who he may be interested in. Many reports suggest that he is still very interested in returning to the Rangers or the Dodgers. The Yankees have also been mentioned, along with the Chicago Cubs.
None of these teams come as a surprise as they are going to be contending in 2017. This race is a big deal in the National League especially though. With how tight the NL Central race will be, along with the desire to catch the Dodgers, teams are desperately trying to do whatever they can to not allow the Dodgers to run away with anything once again.
Milwaukee does not provide the same sort of big market draw that Chicago and Los Angeles offer. However, the Brewers may have the leg up in terms of payroll. At the moment, Milwaukee is under the $100 million threshold for payroll in 2018. They have not been afraid to go over that number in the past, so they ought to have the budget to do so.
Chicago and Los Angeles do not have the same sort of flexibility. The Dodgers already had the highest payroll in baseball in 2017. The Cubs, while having a large payroll already, still need to save some money for when their players need to be paid. Chicago has also been heavily tied to Bryce Harper for free agency next year. If they are seriously interested in signing him, it is unlikely they will give a six-year contract to Darvish.
Only time will tell if the Brewers will be able to bring in the Japanese ace. These dominos ought to be falling soon though, as we are just a couple of weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training. Darvish has to have that in mind, as he just so happens to be a pitcher himself.
Featured image from Newsweek
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