MLB: Yu Darvish will be available for posting this Tuesday. Highest bid expected to be around $100 million

The clock is ticking on potential bidders for Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish, who made himself available for posting Thursday. That means major league teams must submit bids by Tuesday afternoon to win the right to negotiate with him.

So far, teams have been slow to acknowledge they’ll bid for him but are respectful in their assessment of the 6-foot-5 righthander who was 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA last season with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. All 30 big-league clubs are free to submit a blind bid for exclusive negotiating rights to Darvish, whom the Newark Star-Ledger describes as the most-hyped Japanese import since pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.

However, the total amount—posting fee plus actual player contract—of $100 million that it’s projected to take to sign Darvish could be a problem. The Star-Telegram reported that the Rangers have remained mum on Darvish, even though the majority of the front office has been to Japan to watch him pitch. According to the newspaper, they are expected to submit a bid by Tuesday afternoon to win the rights to negotiate with him. Even with a rotation that could use another arm, the Yankees are unlikely to be major players in the Darvish sweepstakes, the Star-Ledger reported.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman declined to comment on whether the Yankees intend to submit a bid, the newspaper added, but did have this assessment Darvish: “He’s an extremely talented player. I don’t think that’s in dispute.” And though Cashman wouldn’t say whether the Yankees planned to submit a bid, the New York Daily News reported that they are expected to: “Despite their negative experience with bust Kei Igawa—they paid $26 million for the rights to negotiate with Igawa five years ago, then gave him $20 million—sources say the Bombers believe Darvish’s stuff can translate to the majors.”

via Teams interested in Yu Darvish? They're playing it coy – MLB – Sporting News.