Texas Rangers: Why They’re Better Off Without Yu Darvish

The Texas Rangers are in a desperate need of an ace pitcher. The pitching core is pretty much depleted and there’s no trusting talent. The Rangers can’t afford to make a mistake. It’s time to rebuild the team. The Rangers ought to acquire not what they want, but rather what they need.

During the season, the Texas Rangers sent their ace pitcher Yu Darvish to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for three minor league prospects. Many fans were unhappy about the move. Many believe the Rangers sent him to Los Angeles so he can regain confidence and then be brought back during free agency. But let’s be honest, the Rangers are better off without Darvish.

For one thing, Darvish is going to cost too much money. And the Rangers have enough on their plate as far as their payroll goes, especially with the money they have to pay to Shin-Soo Choo, Rougned Odor, and even Prince Fielder. The Rangers can’t afford to give blockbuster deals anymore.

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Let’s be honest, the Rangers never really got anywhere with him, did they? Darvish was just one of those pitchers that would pitch dominantly or decently in the regular season, but could not get it done in the postseason. Of course, with the Dodgers, it’s a different story when he comes to post-game performance because the Dodgers went to the World Series and while he played well on the path to the World Series, he didn’t do well on the big stage, going 0-2, losing game seven of the World Series. But his tenure in Texas did not go the way it was supposed to go at all.

Darvish’s demands are likely to be something like a four to a seven-year contract worth over $100 million. The Rangers can’t pay him that much. It’s a big risk and it’s not worth it. Signing him back in 2012 was a difficult task and this time it’s going to be ten times harder.