Darvish shows Rangers what might have been in dominating Cubs win

A veteran All-Star pitcher making more than $20 million a season — albeit barely more, Texas Rangers owners — was scheduled to make his way Wednesday from Mesa all the way to the westernmost spot in the Cactus League.

For those not familiar with the Phoenix area and traffic patterns, Mesa might as well be Tucson or El Paso when traveling to or from Surprise Stadium. It's a trip many veterans don't have to make.

But it's where Yu Darvish pitched for the Chicago Cubs against the team that brought him to the major leagues, the Texas Rangers.

It's the same Darvish who hung on the free-agent vine all the way into February, who wanted to return to the Rangers and who went on an off-season dinner date with general manager Jon Daniels.

All the stars were aligned except one, the most important one. No, not fielding the best team, apparently.

Ownership didn't want to spend on Darvish, who ended up signing a six-year deal worth $126 million. At $21 million a season, that's less than the Rangers are paying left-hander Cole Hamels.

"I'm pretty sure it's affordable for any organization," third baseman Adrian Beltre.

Especially for a top-of-the-rotation fixture, which is what the Rangers will miss most about not having Darvish.

Despite all the bellyaching about him working too slowly and trying to strike everyone out and throwing an inefficient 100 pitches in five innings, Darvish is a horse.

"When he's on, he's one of the best," shortstop Elvis Andrus said. "Even when he wasn't doing as well, his presence on the mound still meant a lot. As a teammate, those are the guys you want out there."

Andrus said that he stayed in Darvish's ear about a return, but ultimately didn't push too hard. Free agency is a right players earn, and it's their choice to do what they believe is best for them and their families.

When the Rangers didn't make a competitive offer to the Cubs' proposal, Darvish chose the Windy City over his adopted hometown of Dallas. He wanted to stay but has moved on, professionally speaking.

"A lot of familiar faces," Darvish said. "I heard some heckles from the opponent's side, but that got me relaxed and I had fun out there."

He has a lot of friends in the Rangers' clubhouse. He spent time before the game talking to Martin Perez. Andrus said that Darvish was a great teammate, and he was planning to text the right-hander to throw only fastballs.

Andrus doubled off Darvish in the first, grounding one down the line and into the corner. Joey Gallo, who singled ahead of Andrus, was thrown out at home. Juan Centeno, the in-house front-runner to be the backup catcher, started the third with a solo homer, but that was all Darvish would yield over six tidy innings.

And a pleasant drive down Memory Lane.

"I drove myself here today, and as I got closer to the stadium, it was nice seeing the scenery that I'm used to," Darvish said. "I held meetings with all the teams, but it seemed like the probably of going back to the Rangers seemed very good. That doesn't mean I didn't want to go back."

The Rangers spent on starting pitching this off-season, but, admittedly, off the value rack. Right-hander Doug Fister signed for $4 million, Mike Minor signed for three years and $28 million, and Matt Moore was acquired from the San Francisco Giants with $10 million guaranteed on his deal and an affordable option for 2019.

Perez, one of four left-handers in the rotation, is pitching on a $6 million club option.

Moore faced the Cubs in his Arizona finale, with another outing likely Monday in an exhibition game against the Reds at Globe Life Park. Darvish wasn't the only Cubs star to make the trek, so Moore faced Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and other lineup fixtures.

They got to him, collecting five runs on eight hits in two-plus innings, though Moore didn't seem all that displeased.

"If I go out there with that kind of stuff, more often than not I'll take my chances with the way it was coming out," he said.

Darvish will, too. The Rangers knew what they could have had, and he gave them a friendly reminder.

"I hoped he was coming back," designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo said. "Probably everyone would have welcomed him back. He's a first or second starter on every team."

Cubs 5, Rangers 1

HBP—by—Moore (Rizzo). T—2:38. A—9,377

This story was originally published March 21, 2018 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Darvish shows Rangers what might have been in dominating Cubs win."