Better late than never? After an off-season quiet enough to appease a grouchy librarian, the Chicago Cubs finally grabbed the top-of-the-rotation arm they needed by signing Yu Darvish this afternoon to a six-year, $126 million contract. Darvish can actually earn up to 150 million overall by hitting performance and playing time thresholds during the life of the contract.
Clarification: Darvish six-year guarantee with #Cubs is $126M with ability to get to $150M, according to sources.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 10, 2018
The Cubs desperately needed an arm like Darvish on their staff. Before the signing, it was appearing that they would go into the season with Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, and Jose Quintana leading their staff. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that, but none are considered aces at this stage of their careers. Darvish, on the other hand, is squarely in his prime and has the stuff needed to lead this Cubs staff.
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In 2017, Darvish posted the highest ERA since his rookie year at 3.86, and his 10.1 K/9 was the lowest of his five-year career. Regardless, a 3.86 ERA and 10.1 K/9 are nothing to scoff at, and he was much better after a late-July trade landed him in Hollywood. In nine starts with the Dodgers, Darvish went 4-3 with a 3.44 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9, and 11.1 K/9.
On top of that, Darvish has always pitched well against National League opponents. In 17 interleague starts, he has a 3.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 11.4 K/9. Signing with a National League team provides a nice boost in fantasy value for Darvish in 2018, especially in a division with two rebuilding teams.
Darvish (ADP 56) is currently being drafted as the 15th starting pitcher off the board, and I recently ranked him 18th in my 2018 starting pitcher rankings. Now that he’s signed, and in a good landing spot, Darvish moves up to 15th in my rankings. His probable low ERA and immense strikeout upside make him a borderline fantasy ace or a very strong SP2 in 2018 fantasy leagues. Just keep your fingers crossed that he can stay healthy.
Thank you for reading and I hope you can use this article to your advantage and get a leg up on your fellow league members. Got a question that I didn’t cover here? Then follow me on Twitter @EricCross04 and ask there.
Previous Hot Stove Analysis
Mets Add Todd Frazier on Two-Year Deal
Royals and Athletics Swap Parts
Miami Sends Christian Yelich to Brewers
Blue Jays Acquire Randal Grichuk
Blue Jays Sign Curtis Granderson
Giants Trade for Andrew McCutchen
Twins Grab Their Closer, Sign Addison Reed
Mets Bring Back Jay Bruce on Three-Year Deal
Toronto Acquires Yangervis Solarte from San Diego
Royals, Dodgers, and White Sox Complete Three-Way Trade
Rockies Fill Closer Vacancy with Wade Davis
Arizona Adds Bullpen Depth with Yoshihisa Hirano
Indians Fill First-Base Void with Yonder Alonso
Brewers Bolster Rotation with Jhoulys Chacin
Orioles Lose Zach Britton, Brad Brach Likely Closer
Giants Add Evan Longoria, Rays Create a Mess
Red Sox Bring Back Mitch Moreland
CC Sabathia Returns to Yankees
Dodgers-Braves Make Five-Player Trade
Angels in the Infield: Zack Cozart Signs with Los Angeles
Phillies Ink Carlos Santana to Three-Year Deal
Everyone’s Signing Relievers, But Who Will Close?
Cardinals Finally Get Their Marlins Outfielder
Cubs and Twins Gamble on Smyly and Pineda
Chase Headley Gets Dumped on Padres
Cubs and Cardinals Add Potential Closers
Giancarlo Stanton Joins Yankees
Wellington Castillo Inks Deal with White Sox
Potential Closers Traded: Boxberger and Johnson