{"id":12572,"date":"2012-01-19T20:30:48","date_gmt":"2012-01-19T20:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=12572"},"modified":"2012-01-19T20:26:51","modified_gmt":"2012-01-19T20:26:51","slug":"darvish-completes-deal-with-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=12572","title":{"rendered":"Darvish completes deal with Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Major League Baseball will welcome a new international talent to its roster this season after Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish signed a six-year contract with the Texas Rangers.<\/p>\n

Much as foreign players joining the Premiership can take some time to get used to playing in England, so Darvish will go through a period of transition as he gets used to his new surroundings.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Daisuke Matsuzaka faced a similar period of transition and never reached the heights that were expected of him. However, all of the reports suggest that Darvish has the talent and character to succeed Stateside.<\/p>\n

He might be a star pitcher coming over from Japan, but that’s really\u00c2\u00a0where the similarities with Matsuzaka end. Darvish should be considered as a talent in his own right and when you look at him that way, it’s not difficult to see why the Rangers have acquired him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Darvish has been linked with a move to MLB for several years due to his utter dominance on the mound in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League. A recent feature on the MLB Network examined his pitching statistics and compared him favourably with Stephen Strasburg and the Rays’ Matt Moore.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n