Unless things drastically change over the weekend, the Rangers will not have an All-Star on the field in Miami next week.
Yu Darvish was the team’s only representative in this year’s version of the midsummer classic. The only thing is now Darvish will not participate in the game on Tuesday night. The Rangers have their ace going on Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels in the final game before the break. He’ll likely still make the trip because, well, it’s Miami.
There’s no way Darvish would be able to turn around and toss an inning on Tuesday night. Too risky, especially for someone who’s really in the middle of his first full season removed from Tommy John surgery.
On the surface, the numbers for Darvish don’t scream out All-Star. He’s 6-7 with a respectable 3.56 ERA with 119 strikeouts in 18 games. Darvish is also coming off one of his worst starts in recent memory, allowing 11 hits and seven runs before being knocked out in the fifth against the Red Sox on the Fourth of July. Not exactly the fireworks show that was expected at the Globe in Arlington that night.
Prior to that start, Darvish had been solid for the Rangers and at times just didn’t get the run support needed to make the win column look nicer. However, there were also times that he was sailing early on in the outing before having that dreaded “one bad inning.”
Darvish has also been a constant topic in trade talk around the office watercoolers around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex since he’s a free agent at the end of the season. The Rangers would love to have him back in a Rangers uniform since he’s really the first ace they’ve had since the days of Nolan Ryan taking the mound at Arlington Stadium.
On the flip side, if the Rangers continue to struggle and play themselves out of the postseason picture, does Darvish become trade bait?
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Bottom line is no matter how you slice it, whether Darvish stays or goes comes down to if the price is right for both sides. Stay tuned.
As far as the All-Star Game goes, shortstop Elvis Andrus was in the running for the fan’s final vote but fell short of making the roster. The result is no Elvis, and now no Yu, representing the Rangers on the field in mid-July during a time when all eyes are on the best in the game.
