Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish announced Thursday that he intends to come to the United States to join the Major Leagues. But according to the Providence Journal, it's unlikely that he will be playing for the Boston Red Sox.
Darvish's Japanese club, the Nippon Ham Fighters, will accept bids through the same posting system that landed Daisuke Matsuzaka in Boston five years ago. But due to the MLB's luxury tax, the Sox don't have much financial flexibility to offer a strong bid for the highly-hyped right-hander.
Boston general manager Ben Cherington said the Red Sox will discuss whether to bid for Darvish, but it seems unlikely that Boston will post the winning bid.
"I'm not sure the timing of this offseason puts us in a position to be the most aggressive team," Cherington said. "But he's a good pitcher, and we have a lot of respect for him. We'll certainly discuss it and figure out if a post makes sense. We've got a lot of commitment to the starting rotation, as you guys know, and we feel pretty good about the front end of our rotation. If a team is going to be posting and trying to sign him, it's to be part of the front end of the rotation, and we feel pretty good about that part of our team."
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