The most unorthodox MLB season in the history of the league just came to an end but that doesn't mean that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is going to go away any time soon. If anything, it's only going to be even more plausible in the offseason.
Multiple owners are reportedly going to try and cut expenses to mitigate the losses inducted by the pandemic, which means that Steve Cohen - who recently bought the New York Mets - could be one of the most aggressive guys in the upcoming market.
And according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, Yu Darvish would be at the top of the Mets' wishlist ahead of next season, especially with the Chicago Cubs reportedly set to move on from some of their stars.
MLB Rumors: Yu Darvish Could Join The New York Mets
"A sense persists that the Cubs want to dramatically lower payroll. Darvish (three years, $59 million) is the most expensive piece. They do not have a strong farm system, plus core positional pieces Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber are all free agents after the 2021 season," the report said.
"The Mets could take Darvish’s whole contract, plus they have a deep reservoir of cost-effective positional pieces such as Rosario, J.D. Davis, Jeff McNeil and Dom Smith whom the Cubs could peruse. Like Price in the Red Sox-Dodgers trade, Cohen could even absorb the $17 million owed the faded Craig Kimbrel to lower the prospect return," Sherman concluded.
Darvish is coming off a career year with the Cubs, posting an 8-3 record with 2.01 ERA, 0.961 WHIP, and 93 strikeouts over 76.0 IP in 12 starts, and would be a major addition to an already impressive rotation of Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and potentially Marcus Stroman.
