The Astros Are Interested In Yu Darvish

As well all know, the Houston Astros defeated the Dodgers in seven games of the World Series. Yu Darvish started two of those games for the Dodgers and he was absolutely rocked. In both starts combined, Darvish went just 3.1 innings and gave up eight runs on nine hits. Well, clearly Houston isn’t too worried about that.

According to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, the Astros are interested in signing Yu Darvish this off-season. If we don’t look at Darvish’s starts in the World Series, as difficult as that might be, his stuff was dominating on multiple occasions in 2017. He started on game of the NLDS and one game of the NLCS and was lights out. In those two starts combined, Yu Darvish went 11.1 innings of two-run baseball and racked up 14 strikeouts. His overall stats in 2017 weren’t bad, either. He put up a 3.86 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in 31 starts split between the Rangers and the Dodgers.

The Astros are definitely not lacking in the starting pitching department at the moment, however that will change in the near future. Dallas Keuchel was excellent in 2017, putting up a 2.90 ERA and a WHIP of 1.12 in 23 starts. Justin Verlander was ridiculously dominant after he was traded to the Astros. In five starts to end the season, Verlander put up a 1.06 ERA and a 0.65 WHIP. With that said, Keuchel will be a free agent after the 2018 season and Verlander will be a free agent after the 2019 season.

Nothing seems imminent at the moment, and Ken Rosenthal added that the Astros are also interested in Jake Arrieta. Going into next season, the Dodgers will have Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Alex Wood, and Kenta Maeda in their rotation. Should the Dodgers look to fill that last available spot in free agency? Or should they look internally at guys like Hyun-Jin Ryu and Walker Beuhler to fill the role? Let us know in the comments below!