Yu Darvish: Japanese Pitcher Is Not Worth Huge Price Tag for Blue Jays

The Blue Jays are the front-runners in the Yu Darvish sweepstakes, according to George A. King III of the New York Post, but the Japanese phenom isn't worth the $40-50 million price tag that the Blue Jays are going to have to swallow to acquire his services.

Darvish is only 25 years old. At 6'5", he's a daunting presence on the mound. His 18-6 record and 1.44 ERA in 2011 are impressive, but let's not forget that he put up those numbers on the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.

By all accounts, he could be a talented pitcher in the bigs who turns into an ace. The Blue Jays need him to be that right now though.

Toronto would have been better off letting the Yankees overpay for him and spending their money elsewhere.

The Blue Jays finished .500 a season ago and adding a top-flight pitcher would do wonders for their playoff aspirations, but is Darvish that sort of pitcher?

Why not go after a guy like Prince Fielder, who is on the market and has shown that he can be an elite pickup that carries no risk?

There is a ton of hype surrounding Darvish, but going all in on the 25-year-old isn't a slam dunk. He's not worth the high risk and the odds of him not living up to his contract are far too great to make that sort of investment.

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