The end of Nippon Ham’s season meant the beginning of speculation over the availability of its prize pitcher, Yu Darvish.

A lanky right-hander, Darvish finished 18-6 with a 1.44 earned run average, the fifth straight year he recorded an E.R.A. of less than 2.00. He led all of Japanese baseball by pitching 232 innings and striking out 276 batters. With an uninspiring class of free-agent pitchers available in the major leagues, Darvish is among the most coveted players, although recent big-name pitchers from Japan have not always performed up to expectations.

Darvish is 25 and will not become a free agent for the international market until after the 2014 season. If he is to be fitted for a major league uniform before then, it will have to be through the posting system, a transfer arrangement allowing players under contract in Japan to sign with major league teams ahead of free agency.

NY Times

TEXAS RANGERS WIN PART ONE OF THE DARVISH DERBY

The Texas Rangers have won the rights to negotiate with Yu Darvish, ending weeks of speculation about where the Japanese pitching star may begin his Major League Baseball career.

The Rangers submitted the highest bid through the closely guarded “posting” process, and Darvish’s team — the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters — formally decided Monday that they will accept it. The Rangers must agree on a contract with Darvish during the next 30 days, or he will return to the Fighters.

MLB clubs faced a deadline of last Wednesday to submit bids. The Rangers won with their offer of $51.7 million, a major league source confirmed to FOXSports.com. That is an all-time high for the posting system. The previous record bid was Boston’s $51.1 million for Daisuke Matsuzaka after the 2006 season.

Darvish, 25, is considered to be a stronger and more complete pitcher than Matsuzaka, who has struggled with injuries and inconsistency in recent seasons.

Darvish appears to be entering his prime, coming off a season in which he went 18-6 and established career bests in innings (232) and ERA (1.44). But major-league hitters will pose a stiffer challenge, and the right-hander must demonstrate that, unlike Matsuzaka, he has the staying power to succeed in North America for several seasons in a row.

The negotiating window will commence Tuesday and close Wednesday, Jan. 18. If Darvish doesn’t sign, he will be eligible to post again (with an entirely new set of bids) following the 2012 season.

Fox Sports

The Texas Rangers and Japanese pitching star Yu Darvish have agreed on a six-year contract, the team announced Wednesday.

The deal is worth close to $60 million, one major-league source confirmed to FOXSports.com. It does not include deferred money.

Darvish is coming off a season for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in which he went 18-6 and established career bests in innings (232) and ERA (1.44). He had 276 strikeouts to lead the Pacific League.

Wednesday's deal came at the end of a 30-day negotiating window that began Dec. 19 when the Rangers' bid to negotiate with the pitcher was accepted. The sides had until 5 p.m. ET today to reach agreement or Darvish would have returned to Japan for the 2012 season.

The Rangers already spent $51.7 million for the rights to negotiate with Darvish. The total expenditure — contract and posting fee — is roughly $110 million. The Rangers' bid for negotiating rights beat the previous record bid of $51.1 million submitted by Boston for Daisuke Matsuzaka after the 2006 season.

Darvish, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, was a two-time Pacific League MVP and a five-time All-Star. He led the league in strikeouts three times, in ERA twice and won two Gold Gloves.

Fox Sports