The Choice Is Chicago


Finally, we have big free agent news: four days before training camps open, the winter's top free agent pitcher has finally landed a deal. Multiple reports on Saturday had the Cubs and Yu Darvish agreeing on a six-year $126 million contract.

In the biggest blow to whispers saying "collusion," the 31 year old righthander gets a year more than most insiders expected.

Following a winter when clubs seemed determined not to pay present and future dollars for past glories but declining production, Theo Epstein and his Cubs front office went back to the kind of contract that's all too risky.

Will Darvish last six years without another major injury? Keep in mind, he's already had Tommy John surgery. Can Chicago pitching coach Jim Hickey help Darvish make the adjustments so he stops tipping his pitches? Was there another underlying issue led to those two awful World Series starts against the Astros?

While no free agent is a sure thing, Yu Darvish carries plenty of risk -- as well as a good chance of reward. We'll know in two or three years whether Epstein made a savvy move, or proved overconfident giving nine figures of guaranteed money to a pitcher with 13 professional seasons of wear and tear on his body and soul.

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