Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that the Chicago Cubs have signed Yu Darvish to a six-year, $126 million contract with incentives that could make the deal worth around $150 million.
The 31-year-old had a 3.86 ERA, 118 ERA+ and 1.16 WHIP last season with 209 strikeouts in 186.2 innings between the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was good in his first two playoff starts (11.1 IP, 2 ER, 14 K) but struggled badly in two World Series starts (3.1 IP, 9 ER, 0 K).
Darvish was the top pitcher on the free agent market, which could allow for the starting pitching market to start moving. Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb, and Lance Lynn are now the top pitchers available, with the Mets having interest in the latter two.
Jon Heyman of the FanRag Sports Network reports that the Los Angeles Dodgers made an offer “in the same ballpark,” but Darvish chose the Cubs anyways.
Heyman also reports that the Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins made offers in the five-year, $100+ range.
Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors predicted in November that Darvish would sign with the Cubs, but predicted he would he would receive more money than he did as he expected him to receive a six-year, $160 million.
