Mets: Three Cubs players worth trading for this offseason

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 15: Starting pitcher Yu Darvish #11 of the Chicago Cubs delivers the ball in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on September 15, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

If the Mets are wanting to bolster their pitching staff, adding Yu Darvish to compliment Jacob deGrom atop the rotation should be explored

While the thought of having Trevor Bauer and Jacob deGrom starting on back-to-back nights has many Mets fans salivating, trading for the 2020 Cy Young runner-up could be a move that delivered just as much excitement heading into 2021.

While Darvish has had his ups and downs in the Majors, his eight-year career has been a largely successful one. Across over 1,110 innings pitched, the Japanese-born star has compiled a 3.47 lifetime ERA while amassing almost 1,400 strikeouts. That, by the way, is good for a whopping 11.1 K/9 for his career. To compliment the strikeouts, Darvish also sports a career WHIP of 1.16, which is good for 14th on the active leaderboard (min. 1,000 IP).

If there was to be some concern about Darvish, it would be around his durability and age. The right-hander will turn 35 next August and over his eight-year career, has averaged 140 innings pitched. Darvish missed the entire 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery and missed significant time in 2018 with only 40 innings pitched. Outside of ’18, Darvish has only had two seasons in which he finished with an fWAR below three.

The Mets, who early on in November were linked to Bauer, could certainly benefit from putting a number 2 or 1A pitcher behind deGrom in the rotation. While Darvish isn’t without blemish in his career, he certainly would bring a dynamic to the rotation that hasn’t been seen in a while. Eclipsing the 200 strikeout mark four times, Darvish carries a devastating pitch arsenal and his ability to miss bats would make the Mets a nightmare in a playoff series if paired with Jacob.

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Darvish is set to make $22M in 2021 and is under contract until 2024, which would be his age 37 season. While there would certainly be a cost in talent to acquire Darvish, the Cubs are looking to dump salary and taking on Darvish’s contract could significantly cheapen the cost of players required to bring Yu to Queens.

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