Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the year-by-year breakdown of Yu Darvish’s contract with the Rangers:
2012: $5.5 million
2013: $9.5 million
2014: $10 million
2015: $10 million
2016: $10 million
2017: $11 million
The deal was initially reported as a six-year, $60 million contract, but it turns out that $56 million is the actual guarantee. However, Wilson reports that Darvish can earn the additional four million through roster bonuses. The contract also includes a lump sum bonus if he wins the Cy Young Award. The Rangers are making an investment of nearly $108 million if you include the $51,703,411 posting fee that will be paid to Darvish’s old team, the Nippon Ham-Fighters.
Per Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said during a radio appearance Thursday morning that Darvish has two possible avenues to opt out of the final year of the contract:
1) If he wins the Cy Young in one year and finishes in the “top three or four” in the balloting in another of the first five years of the contract.
2) If he finishes second for Cy Young in one year and in the top three or four in the balloting in two additional years.
Those are some pretty lofty performance thresholds. But if Darvish somehow reaches them and opts out, it’s safe to say the Rangers would be pretty satisfied with the way things worked out.
Darvish is set to be officially introduced as a member of the Rangers during a press conference tonight at the Ballpark in Arlington.