The Chicago Cubs are still considered favorites to sign Yu Darvish, as the free-agent market remains moving at a snail's pace.
According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, Darvish's choices are shrinking and the Cubs are seen as the frontrunners to sign the top free-agent pitcher.
Earlier this week the AP reported that talks between the Cubs and Darvish were active. That was after the Cubs signed Chris Gimenez, who Darvish said is his favorite catcher, to a minor-league deal. Gimenez was on MLB Network Radio on Friday and said he's talked with Darvish frequently since signing with the Cubs.
Although the majority of the top free agents remain unsigned, it's been an interesting offseason for Darvish, who's had fun with all the rumors and reports about him. He's responded to reports of his negotiations with "fake news," however since the AP report about the Cubs and him talking, the 31-year-old has been mum on the issue. Cubs GM Jed Hoyer was on 670 The Score Friday and said the team wasn't going to overreact to the moves made by the Milwaukee Brewers a day prior. The Brewers were able to improve their outfield, trading four prospects to the Miami Marlins for Christian Yelich and then gave Lorenzo Cain the biggest deal of the offseason, a five-year, $80 million contract.
Although the St. Louis Cardinals and Brewers have improved their teams on paper, the Cubs remain the top dog in the NL Central. As it stands now, the front office feels confident that the starting rotation is good enough, but obviously adding Darvish would greatly improve the pitching staff as a whole. At this point, it just seems like it's a matter of time before the Cubs sign one of the remaining free-agent pitchers. Darvish still appears to be No. 1 on the Cubs' list.
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