Please pass on Yu Darvish Twins

[Mike Sixel]

 

if I were in Darvish’s shoes I’d be less worried about AAV and more worried about total and length. At 32, most likely this is his last multi year contract of his career. He needs to maximize total and length.

 

exactly. the most money possible.

[Mr. Brooks]

I like this idea a lot, even if it means going to say $32 million and 33 million for two season's and mutually declarable option in year 3 where both sides can decline. Not sure what the signing bonus would be. Money now is always worth more now if you can invest it too. He is still only 34 then and still has a chance to sign another large deal. A chance to win now with a great defense, and a ballpark that is favorable to pitchers during the season cannot hurt either. The Twins have some mashers to so they can put up some offense. I think the front office is trying and being creative behind the scenes, it is just will the player and ownership take the leap of faith that they can win it all together. Jack Morris was a unique situation but he took a chance on the Twins, I wish Darvish would do the same. Roll those dice Mr Yu Darvish-san, they will be in your favor with the Twins.

I thought the argument for a shorter deal is that he'll be bad after the first 2 or 3 years? If that's the case, how would he have a chance to sign another long term deal, if he signs for 3 now?

[Jham]

I thought the argument for a shorter deal is that he'll be bad after the first 2 or 3 years? If that's the case, how would he have a chance to sign another long term deal, if he signs for 3 now?

Also, if you're willing to pay $34 mil/year for 3 years, how is $50 mil more for 3 more years outrageous?

[jimbo92107]

I get the impression that Yu Darvish's arm is shot. If so, then all his fancy pitches don't mean diddley. He'll be throwing a lot of nothing balls, then spending months on the DL. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I get the impression that Yu Darvish's arm is shot. If so, then all his fancy pitches don't mean diddley. He'll be throwing a lot of nothing balls, then spending months on the DL. 

How is his arm shot? Since returning from Tommy John surgery, he posted the two highest fastball velocity seasons of his career.

[mikecgrimes]

While I get the idea of not getting stuck in bad contracts I sometimes find it odd that we are more worried about years then dollars.  I just saw a suggestion of 3 years 100.  For argument sake say it would take 6 years 145.  To me if I had the choice of locking in on years 4 5 and 6 at 45 million today I almost find that's a better risk then the front end.  The key on these long term contracts to me is making sure the player is good enough to make an impact.  A lot of people around town(specifically Judd Zulgad) look at what the Wild have done and are afraid of any long term deals, but NHL free agency is different, the best players are never free agents, long term deals to great but not superstar players in that league will never work.  The bad contracts end up staring you in the face, but what people ignore is the ones that worked out the way they should, demanding that any big contract works out great, What the Twins really need is to be able to say they have the better pitcher the majority of the time, adding a front of the rotation guy will make a huge difference probably for at least 4 years even if he drifts to being a middle of the rotation or even eventually bullpen arm.

[HitInAPinch]

 

Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Ervin Santana.  Just a brief example of how long some in the era of modern medicine and training, being over 30 doesn't mean that much in athletics anymore.  I'm all for signing Darvish, but would like to see the latest medical report on him.

 

The turn around to a legit contender could happen quickly if:

 

1.  The Twins could pickup another quality pitcher, leave/clear a spot for an upside MiLBer to prove their worth/get MLB experience.  

2.  Remove under-producing pitching from team [i.e. no more wishing they'll either become great or competent]

3. The current on-field ensemble improves even more over last season's breakout.

 

Asking for too much??    

 

[jimbo92107]

 

How is his arm shot? Since returning from Tommy John surgery, he posted the two highest fastball velocity seasons of his career.

I could be wrong, but I think Darvish is due for a precipitous decline in his effectiveness. Before TJ, he was an ace with a phenomenal assortment of pitches, all of which he could throw for strikes. After TJ, he is depending more and more on gas, he's not dominating like before, and his arm appears to be getting more prone to injury. He still has strong legs and mechanics to throw mid-90's heat, but his arm is going downhill. This is a very expensive deal I would not make. The Dodgers wish they hadn't, and the Twins would be getting Darvish after his disappointing results for LA. 

 

Bear in mind that the fastball is probably the easiest pitch on his arm. All the pitches he spins - curves, sliders, etc - involve twisting the arm during delivery. If Darvish is wearing out his arm, it will show first in a decline of rpm and accuracy of the pitches he spins. It could be that he has been compensating for less variety by amping up his fastball. Throwing harder with fewer pitches is what relief pitchers do, not guys that plan to go 7 to 9 innings. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I could be wrong, but I think Darvish is due for a precipitous decline in his effectiveness. Before TJ, he was an ace with a phenomenal assortment of pitches, all of which he could throw for strikes. After TJ, he is depending more and more on gas, he's not dominating like before, and his arm appears to be getting more prone to injury. He still has strong legs and mechanics to throw mid-90's heat, but his arm is going downhill. This is a very expensive deal I would not make. The Dodgers wish they hadn't, and the Twins would be getting Darvish after his disappointing results for LA. 

 

Bear in mind that the fastball is probably the easiest pitch on his arm. All the pitches he spins - curves, sliders, etc - involve twisting the arm during delivery. If Darvish is wearing out his arm, it will show first in a decline of rpm and accuracy of the pitches he spins. It could be that he has been compensating for less variety by amping up his fastball. Throwing harder with fewer pitches is what relief pitchers do, not guys that plan to go 7 to 9 innings. 

I think you're really overstating things here. I'm pretty wary of Darvish but calling his Dodgers performance disappointing is focusing on his World Series performance and ignoring the other 11 starts he made with the team, where he was excellent while in Los Angeles.