Yu Darvish

After a career year in 2020, Darvish moves to San Diego in a trade that shouldn't affect his strong 2021 outlook all that much. Despite his advancing age, Darvish built on the gains he had made over the second half of 2019, finishing with a 2.01 ER, a 0.96 WHIP, and a 31.3% strikeout rate. Darvish's walk rate has declined to a level once thought unattainable for the veteran, a mere 4.7%, which was in the top 8% of MLB in 2020. Although he'll be entering his age-35 season, there's simply nothing in Darvish's numbers, metrics, or statcast data that points to a decline. If you are desperate to find a negative, it's a move from the weak-hitting NL Central to the much stronger NL West, but that's hardly a reason to avoid Darvish. Draft him as an easy top-10 starter, and more like a top-5 option.

Yu Darvish reportedly being traded to Padres

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports Yu Darvish is heading to the Padres as part of a seven player trade.

Fantasy Impact

Feinsand notes that C Victor Caratini is also headed to the Padres. Zach Davies, SS Reginald Preciado, OF Owen Caissie, OF Ismael Mena and SS Yeison Santana are going back to the Cubs. This is a bit of an underwhelming package in terms of top prospects, but we'll wait and see if there are any additional names involved.