Japanese ace Yu Darvish may soon be heading to the major leagues. But a first major step is his Japanese team posting him up for auction, which may happen soon.
According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the 25-year-old Darvish is likely to be posted after the winter meetings wrap up in a few weeks. At that point, major league teams will submit a closed bid for the pitcher, with the high bidder earning the right to negotiate with Darvish for 30 days on a major-league contract.
If the process sounds familiar to Red Sox fans, it should. Daisuke Matsuzaka signed with the Sox after the team bid $51.1 million for the right to talk to negotiate a deal with him.
New Red Sox skipper Bobby Valentine, who managed against Darvish in Japan, "loves" the young pitcher, according to a source of Rosenthal's, so the Sox may be in the hunt for the right-hander.
Teams will have four days to bid on Darvish's services from his old team, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, once he posts. Last season, Darvish went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA last season,with 276 strikeouts and only 36 walks.
