MLB Free Agency: Should the New York Yankees Risk Signing Yu Darvish?

We've heard all the hype about Yu Darvish for about two years now.

We've all wondered when he'll leave Japan to come to the Major Leagues.

It looks like Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japanese Baseball League, will post Darvish and make him available for the 2012 season.

For those unfamiliar with how posting works, Darvish's team will have an auction of sorts for all 30 teams. Whoever bids the highest will get the rights to negotiate with Darvish.

That bid will just get the team the right to negotiate with Darvish, that winning team still has to work out a contract with Darvish and his agent,

Darvish is expected to get interest from a lot of teams this winter, one of them being the Yankees.

Would it make sense for the Yankees to go after Darvish?

Lets examine the pros and cons of Darvish.

Pros

1. He's only 26 years old and has a career ahead of him.

2. Hitters have never faced him before, so they don't know what to expect and can get fooled by him.

3. 75-32 career record in Japan.

4. Strikeout machine: three seasons with over 200 strikeouts.

5. Durable: three seasons with over 200 innings.

6. Fan base: Darvish has a huge following in Japan, and would bring in more fans and sponsors if pitching in New York, similar to what Hideki Matsui brought for the Yankees.

Cons

1. He's never pitched in American baseball. How will he translate going from Japan to MLB?

2. Kei Igawa: Utter disaster for the Yankees.

3. Posting fee: There's a good chance the posting fee alone could be upwards of $50 million.

4. Daisuke Matsuzaka: Boston fans will tell you that he was nothing but hype and a total bust.

5. Hideki Irabu: Another failed Japanese pitcher for the Yankees. Not as bad as Igawa, but not good by any stretch.

Teams Interested in Signing Darvish

What teams are interested in signing Darvish this winter?

The Texas Rangers have heavily scouted him.

The Toronto Blue Jays have interest.

The Boston Red Sox could use pitching, despite having the Daisuke Matsuzaka experiment flop in their face.

The Baltimore Orioles because they have the money.

The Washington Nationals because they also have the money after missing out on Cliff Lee a year ago.

And then there is the Yankees, who have also scouted him and are rumored to have interest.

History of Japanese Players Coming to MLB

Darvish will join a list of players who came over from Japan to play in MLB.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hiroki Kuroda, Hisanori Takahashi, Hideki Okajima, Takashi Saito and Koji Uehara are all current pitchers right now in the pros.

The first pitcher to make it big on the professional stage was Hideo Nomo with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Then you had others like Masato Yoshii, Kazuhiro Ishii, Tomo Ohka and Kazuhiro Sazaki who pitched. Some had success and some didn't.

Plus, you had the Yankees signings of Kei Igawa and Hideki Irabu.

Will the Yankees Take the Risk?

I know a lot of Yankee fans on here are hoping that Darvish comes to the Bronx.

So this may not be what you want to hear.

I think the Yankees don't end up getting him.

I think the failures of Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa will make Brian Cashman shy away from going after another Japanese pitcher again.

Plus, the Yankees will have to fork over about $100 million when it's all set and done to get Darvish; at least $50 million for the posting fee and at least $50 million for a contract.

With other pitchers out on the market in free agency and in the trade market, I can see Cashman not going after Darvish as aggressively as other teams like the Rangers or Blue Jays will.