Report: Nationals 'not in' Darvish sweepstakes
Yu Darvish appears to be on his way out of Texas, but it doesn't look like he'll be taking his talents to the nation's capital.
Sources told Mark Feinsand of MLB.com the Washington Nationals are "not in" the running to land the Rangers ace, who's likely to be traded ahead of the July 31 deadline.
Washington was reported to be interested in acquiring the four-time All-Star to bolster its quest to finally break through in October. However, that report also noted the club wasn't entirely sold on dealing for Darvish due to his status as a pending free agent.
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Nationals might be interested in making another deal for relief help instead of adding more starting pitching, despite losing Stephen Strasburg to an arm injury Wednesday. The Nats already swung one deal to add bullpen help earlier this month when they acquired Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson from Oakland.
The Rangers are reportedly informing interested teams they plan to trade Darvish ahead of Monday's deadline. Besides the Nationals, multiple clubs - including the Dodgers, Cubs, and Astros - are said to be interested in acquiring the 30-year-old.
Darvish owns a 4.01 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 22 starts for the Rangers this season.