TORONTO - When the Boston Red Sox spent over $100 million to sign Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2006, we thought it was too much to tie up on one player.
How does a team like the Blue Jays, coming off an 81-win season, commit more dough for Yu Darvish?
Would one arm get the Jays into that one-game playoff so they could head into best-of-five American League division series with Ricky Romero and Darvish possibly starting four games?
We’ll never know the answer as the Texas Rangers had the winning bid Monday night of $51.7 million US. It’s unknown what the Jays bid.
Time and again president Paul Beeston has said, “We’re not there yet.” Meaning they are more than one player away from making a serious run.
Yet, the Jays went all in on a bidding war for fiery right-hander Yu Darvish, who dominated in a Nippon Ham Fighters’ uniform.
The Dallas Morning News reported last week that the Jays had the high bid, yet there were doubters all day Monday and finally there was an answer.
The Rangers have until 5 p.m. on Jan. 18 to sign Darvish as a replacement to lefty C.J. Wilson, who headed to the Los Angles Angels as a free agent on a five-year, $77.5-million deal with agents Arn Tellem and Don Nomura.
Or else Darvish returns to pitch in Japan.
A year ago the Oakland A’s bid $19.1 million on Hisashi Iwakuma of the Rakuten Golden Eagles, but the two sides never reached an agreement.
As for Matsuzaka he helped end the Curse of the Bambino and win a World Series in 2008.
Going back to 1991, the Jays were close when Beeston and general manager Pat Gillick added free agents Jack Morris and Dave Winfield.
The result was winning the 1992 World Series. They were a couple of tweaks away.
A year later they added free agents Dave Stewart and Paul Molitor to replace the departing Jimmy Key and Winfield.
They did not head into this off-season one player away.
Yet, they chased Darvish. At least six scouts, including general manager Alex Anthopoulos visited Japan.
This team was not one arm away. What is one quality starter worth?
Eight more wins in 34 starts? Well, maybe more when Jo-Jo Reyes was third in wins amongst Jays starters with five.
Now the Jays will no doubt continue pursuing Oakland A’s lefty Gio Gonzalez. The A’s want minor leaguers in exchange, or Chicago Cubs right-hander Matt Garza via the trade route.
There have been seven $100-million deals signed by pitchers in history, including two by New York Yankee CC Sabathia. That worked out — to date.
The New York Mets received three impressive years from Johan Santana before losing him to Tommy John surgery in 2011.
Kevin Brown was a success with the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Cliff Lee is in the first year of his deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Barry Zito and Mike Hampton contracts were bad investments.
The Red Sox total outlay for Matsuzaka was $51.11 million to win the posting and a six-year, $52-million contract.
Had the Jays won the rights to Darvish, it might have been a team payroll-binding contract unless it was a short-term deal worth a lot of money. It would have resembled the kind Carlos Delgado and Raul Mondesi had. Only larger.
Former GM Gord Ash handed them out and his successor J.P. Ricciardi described them as “albatross contracts.”
Ricciardi committed years and money to A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, Alex Rios and Vernon Wells and suddenly there was a flock of albatross inside the Rogers Centre until the roof was peeled back.
Anthopoulos moved Wells and the final four years remaining on his seven-year, $126-million extension to the Los Angeles Angels a year ago. Then they spent the savings to sign Jose Bautista to five-year, $65-million deal.
It was exciting to see Jays get so excited about the possible signing. They can now look forward to April 30 when Darvish will likely come to town in a Rangers uniform.
