The posting fee, which is paid in addition to whatever contract the team and Darvish settle on, will be paid only if an agreement is reached. If a contract is not agreed on between the player and the highest-posting team, the money is returned. The highest bid in history for a Japanese player was made by the Boston Red Sox, who bid $51 million to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Red Sox's general manager at the time was Theo Epstein, who now serves the same role with the Cubs.
Darvish was 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA and a league-leading 276 strikeouts last season."
Hmmm. Sounds interesting. Obviously the last time it didn't work out so well for Theo. Dick K has been hurt for the last few years. And last time it also didn't work out for the Cubs, Kosuke was nowhere near the player the Cubs thought he would be.
