The Texas Rangers have won the bidding for negotiating rights to 25-year-old Yu Darvish.
Darvish pitches for the Hokkaido Ham Fighters of Japan's Pacific League and is one of the top prospects coming out of Japan.
The Rangers will pay a reported price of $51 million just to talk to the RHP.
"Obviously a very exciting night for our organization, our fans, our community. It's just the first step in the process, but it's an important one and one that we hope that will end with having the ability to sign Darvish to a contract," said Jon Daniels, Rangers general manager.
According to Major League Baseball, the Rangers now have 30 days to sign Darvish to a Major or Minor League professional contract.
