Yu Darvish Interest Proves Blue Jays Are Tired of Playing in AL East Shadows

Japanese starting pitcher Yu Darvish was put up for bid by the Nippon Ham Fighters, and it's being reported by George King of the New York Post that the Toronto Blue Jays are the favorites to land his rights.

It would be a marquee move for a team stuck in the shadows of its AL East counterparts. King writes:

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According to several sources with knowledge of the situation, the Blue Jays’ made the monster bid on orders from owner Rogers Communications.

By Tuesday at 5 p.m. EST, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, for whom Darvish pitched the past seven years, will either accept the highest bid without knowing the identity of the team or reject it.

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Darvish has a career ERA under two in Nippon Professional Baseball and is one of the most coveted free agents to seek a move to the MLB since Ichiro Suzuki.

At just 25 years of age, Darvish still has room to grow while acclimating himself to American game.

In 2011, Toronto finished behind the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays for the fourth consecutive season in. The club hasn't qualified for the postseason since 1993, when it won the World Series.

The Blue Jays have watched their division rivals build a terrific three-way rivalry, leaving Toronto and the Baltimore Orioles to battle for last place.

Earning the right to negotiate with Darvish shows the repetitious story is wearing thin with ownership and fans alike. It will take more than a single, unproven pitcher to turn things around for the Jays, but it would be a big step in the right direction. Especially from a mental standpoint.

There needs to be a change of attitude in Toronto.

Ownership needs to give the front office permission to spend competitively with the Yankees and Red Sox, and the team needs to do a better job of drafting talent to develop, like the Rays.

At the same time, Toronto's players need to believe they can keep up with all three teams over the course of a 162-game marathon.

It's going to be a multi-year process, but it has to start somewhere. Perhaps Darvish will be the turning point which everyone will look back upon as the moment when a Blue Jays resurgence began.

Even if he doesn't sign, the Blue Jays' bidding proves to other free agents that Toronto is serious about contending.

Now they must continue to make a splash in the free-agent market or risk fading into the background again.

It's a crucial time for the Blue Jays, to say the least.