Report: Darvish narrows potential landing spot down to 5 teams

Yu Darvish appears to have narrowed down his list of suitors to five.

The right-handed starter is reportedly considering signing with either the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Minnesota Twins, or Houston Astros, a baseball source told Jeff Wilson of the Star Telegram.

The Astros, however, may soon be out on any pursuit of Darvish, as it was reported earlier Wednesday that they were nearing a trade for Pittsburgh Pirates ace Gerrit Cole. While Astros owner Jim Crane said no trade was imminent, it's believed that Houston would rather acquire Cole than sign Darvish to a long-term contract.

Darvish is coming off his fourth All-Star season, in which he went 10-12 with a 3.86 ERA. 1.16 WHIP, and 209 strikeouts in 186 2/3 innings split between the Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers. The 31-year-old is the top free-agent starter alongside Jake Arrieta, and will likely land a long-term deal exceeding $100 million.

The Rangers, Cubs, and Twins all currently have vacancies in their rotation, while the Astros and Yankees would need to potentially make an additional move in order to fit Darvish in.