The Chicago Cubs are considered the current front-runner to land free agent Yu Darvish. Of course things can change any minute now. Nobody would have guessed the Milwaukee Brewers would be in the sweepstakes but they are.
Now the Cubs haven’t signed Darvish just yet but they did make a move that could increase the chances of the righty heading to the Windy City.
The team from the north side of town has agreed to a minor-league deal with former Rangers catcher Chris Gimenez. If he makes the team, he would be the backup to starter Willson Contreras.
So, why is that important?
Well, Gimenez has a strong history with Darvish. In fact, you could say he was Darvish’s personal catcher. In 26 starts at catcher with Texas, 12 of those were with Darvish on the mound.
Gimenez spent last season with the Minnesota Twins, hitting .220 with seven home runs and 16 RBI in 74 games. Interesting enough, he kept in touch with Darvish during the offseason and had previously been recruiting him to play in the Twin Cities.
This move could now jeopardize any chance of Darvish going to Minnesota.
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The New York Yankees are also in the mix, along with the Rangers. There could be another team that jumps in at any time now, just like the Brewers. That’s how crazy things are right now.
Bottom line is this- Darvish will sign with a team that show him the money and has a shot to get to the World Series. No doubt that he wants another chance after a poor showing against the Houston Astros while wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform during the last year’s fall classic.
And that may be why the Cubs are the current leader in the clubhouse.
