Less than a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, the top free-agent pitchers still haven't found homes for the 2018 season.
Speculation has swirled around where one of those pitchers, right-hander Yu Darvish, will end up. And while it may not be any indication, Darvish has been throwing five days a week with Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, according to Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times.
For his part, Kershaw isn't pushing Darvish - who finished 2017 with the Dodgers - to make a decision.
"I don't want to pressure him too much," Kershaw said. "But he looks good playing catch, I'll say that."
While his World Series meltdown is still fresh in fans' memories, Darvish performed admirably down the regular-season stretch after being acquired from the Texas Rangers at the July trade deadline. In nine starts with Los Angeles, he went 4-3 with a 3.44 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 61 strikeouts in only 49 2/3 innings.
Other than reuniting with either the Dodgers or Rangers, Darvish has also been linked to the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, and others throughout the offseason, while the star righty has reportedly received at least one five-year contract offer in the last week.
