Yu Darvish: Intense Bidding War Should Land Japanese Ace with Texas Rangers

When the Texas Rangers lost C.J. Wilson to the Los Angeles Angels, there was panic from fans because he was easily their best pitcher in 2011.

But perhaps the reason they didn't pony up the kind of dough to keep him is because they saw a better option out there in Yu Darvish. 

The 25-year-old Japanese ace is the best pitcher on the market this winter and when it was announced that he would be posted for teams to bid on last week, the anticipation from Major League teams exploded.

The deadline for teams to post bids ended at 5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday and we will not know if Darvish's current team, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, is going to accept it or not and give him the right to negotiate with the winning team until next week. 

The Rangers are the obvious choice because they have the need and the money to spend on a difference-making player. Darvish has that kind of potential, with an explosive fastball that sits in the mid-90s and an assortment of off-speed pitches, including a knockout slider and change-up. 

As David Schoenfield of ESPN.com wrote, the Rangers have to make the move on Darvish because of where they are right now and where the Angels are trying to go.

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"They've lost Wilson, their best starter the past two seasons, to their division rival. The signing of Joe Nathan likely prompts a move of Neftali Feliz to the rotation -- giving the club five starters in Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, Alexi Ogando and Feliz, with Scott Feldman also hanging around. It's a good rotation. Solid. 

But Nolan Ryan wants more than solid. The Rangers came within a strike of winning the World Series in 2011, even though their starters pitched into the seventh inning just four times in 17 postseason games. He needs a No. 1. They can sign Darvish and move Ogando back to the bullpen, where he profiles as a dominant setup man to Nathan."

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You have the perfect combination of a desperate team capable of winning big right now with the finances to take on a big contract and a young stud with ace potential sitting on the market. 

There are too many factors pointing towards the Rangers winning the bidding for Darvish for it not to happen.

We won't know which team did win for a few days, or if his current team is going to accept the bid, but when we do find out who made the high bid, don't be shocked if the Rangers made it. 

Of course, whatever team does win negotiating rights to talk to Darvish will then have to work on signing him to a contract.

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