Chicago White Sox: Should they go after Yu Darvish?
By Eric Brown
After a forgettable postseason run, Yu Darvish will likely lose a few suitors. Should the White Sox go after him?
Despite having one of the worst postseason runs in recent memory, Yu Darvish will still find himself looking at a brand new contract this off season. Only one question remains. Who is the team that will be willing to pony up the right amount of cash to sign him? The Chicago White Sox desperately need anything that resembles an ace, and despite the less than stellar postseason, Darvish is still that.
2 years removed from Tommy John surgery, Yu Darvish finally looked completely healthy during the 2017 season. After being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline in July, was when he pitched some of the best ball for the season. In 9 starts with the Dodgers, Yu pitched to the tune of a 3.44 ERA, with 61 strikeouts in only 49.2 innings. That equates to 11.1 SO/9.
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Of all the pitchers who started a single game for the White Sox last season, the highest belongs to Tyler Danish, who started only one single game. Carlos Rodon and Jose Quintana were the 2nd and 3rd highest on the team, however neither of them finished the season for the White Sox on the active roster.
In 2018, the White Sox will likely throw out some rotation of James Shields, Carlos Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito, and Carson Fulmer. Out of all those pitchers, Yu Darvish is better than all of them. Not only in just 2017, he’s been better than them when you compare careers. Every team needs that true number one, Darvish can be that for the White Sox, which would allow them to push everyone else on the roster back one slot.
The Chicago White Sox are fully committed to a rebuild, signing Yu Darvish would be an odd move. It is likely that Darvish will sign with a contender, but if the White Sox were to offer him more money than he is expecting, he may just sign the dotted line. He very well could accelerate the rebuild.
As the Astros were able to win the World Series just years after losing 100 games, they committed to the rebuild, then signed veteran pieces to surround the young talent. We could be witnessing the White Sox hoisting up the World Series Trophy in less than 5 years.