With the revelation that an MRI has turned up a sprained UCL for Yu Darvish, Fantasy owners have some new realities to consider. One of those is that the 2015 season may be one in which Darvish doesn't pitch at all. He may need Tommy John surgery, and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News has gone as far as to say that any option other than season-ending surgery is "unrealistic."
Assuming that Darvish is out for the year, there will be impacts for Fantasy owners, particularly in deeper leagues. Owners in AL-only leagues were already facing a thin crop of elite starting pitchers, at least in comparison to the NL. If Darvish is out of the equation on Draft Day, that makes Felix Hernandez, David Price and Corey Kluber all the more valuable. Whatever value Chris Sale might have lost as a result of his fractured foot, he has likely regained with one of his fellow elites coming off the board.
Then there is the matter of who will replace Darvish in Texas' rotation. There is already a competition for the fifth spot among Ross Detwiler, Nick Martinez, Nick Tepesch and Lisalverto Bonilla. The chances now increase for any one of those pitchers to gain a rotation spot, and prospects Alex Gonzalez and Anthony Ranaudo might get a closer look now. Any one of these pitchers would be worth a late-round gamble in AL-only leagues, though Gonzalez and Ranaudo have the highest ceilings in the group.
There is still the possibility that the Rangers pursue a starter on the trade or free agent market, but especially with the Royals' signing of Chris Young earlier on Saturday, their options for a solution outside of the organization aren't plentiful.
If you own Darvish in a keeper format, even in the worst case, he should be back by early next season and possibly as soon as opening day. He's worth a protection slot, but that's little comfort for owners who are focused on contending in 2015.
