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Another Monday, another edition of the Daily Darvish.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much news about Yu to post this morning; no new rumors, no new mystery team, no teams reported as bowing out of the Yu Darvish Derby.
Our friends at Twinkie Town are apparently just as impatient as we are:
Sign Yu Darvish already, holy crap. https://t.co/4eFei4qCMw
— Twinkie Town (@TwinkieTown) January 29, 2018
I don’t dismiss the Twins as a real competitor for Darvish’s services. They were a playoff team in 2017 and they appear to have the financial resources.
As I have most of this offseason, I hope today is the day the Cubs sign Darvish.
There is other Cubs-related news this morning.
First, we have a report about exactly who Brian Duensing turned down to play for the Cubs and how much money he left on the table:
The Chronicle has learned that Oakland offered left-handed reliever Brian Duensing $3 million more than the two-year, $7 million deal he accepted from the Cubs. The A’s also made outfielder Austin Jackson a one-year offer; he took a two-year offer from the Giants.
I don’t want to disparage another team here, so I won’t, but I will say that playing at Wrigley Field for the Cubs has to be perceived as a better situation than playing at the Coliseum for the A’s. Thanks for coming back, Brian — hoping you have two more years just like your 2017 season.
Also, the Cubs have added another player to the spring-training roster:
First baseman Efren Navarro has signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs, I’m told. He receives an invitation to Major League spring training.
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) January 28, 2018
Navarro, 31, is a solid defensive first baseman and swings left-handed. He played 23 games with the Tigers last year.
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) January 28, 2018
Efren Navarro was drafted in the 50th (!) round by the Angels in 2007 and played 130 games for them from 2011-15. The MLB draft now ends after 40 rounds. Navarro has hit .295/.363/.410 in 5,134 plate appearances over 11 minor-league seasons, though not with much power (65 home runs). He will likely wind up playing first base at Triple-A Iowa this year.
The Cubs currently have 60 players on their spring roster, 39 from the 40-man, and 21 with non-roster invitations.
Oh, and today’s headline? Here’s a 1975 song with that title for your listening pleasure.