CHICAGO — Three years after acquiring Yu Darvish in an attempt to regain their dominance in the National League, the Chicago Cubs are in discussions to trade the 2020 NL Cy Young runner-up to the resurgent San Diego Padres.
A source confirmed Monday the two teams are in the midst of negotiations involving Darvish, 34, who posted an 8-3 record and 2.01 ERA in a shortened 2020 season.
Darvish is owed $59 million over the final three years of his six-year contract signed in February of 2018. The Cubs, facing several issues involving potential free agents Javier Baez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, have kept a close watch on their long-term future with several potential holes to fill, particularly at starting pitching.
The Padres, under general manager J.P. Preller, have had interest in Darvish dating to last offseason. The Athletic first reported late Monday morning that both teams were deep in negotiations involving Darvish, who pitched for the Texas Rangers when Preller was an assistant to Jon Daniels.
Reports of the Darvish negotiations surfaced shortly after reports indicated the Padres agreed to a deal with former American League Cy Young winner Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays for four players that has yet to be formally announced.
As part of his contract, Darvish can veto a trade to 12 teams. Multiple reports also have indicated that Victor Caratini, Darvish’s personal catcher, is part of the discussions. Darvish has a 2.80 ERA in 196 1/3 innings with Caratini behind the plate, tying A.J. Pierzynski for lowest ERA with Darvish on the mound for catchers with more than 100 innings with Darvish on the mound.
The Padres have one of the deepest minor-league systems and were able to retain left-hander MacKenzie Gore, one of the best major league prospects.
The Padres earned an NL wild-card berth and beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round.
