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At least one bid in for Japan star Darvish

Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, March 23, 2009. (UPI Photo/ Phil McCarten)
Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, March 23, 2009. (UPI Photo/ Phil McCarten) | License Photo

NEW YORK, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- At least one Major League Baseball team had submitted a bid for Japanese star pitcher Yu Darvish by Wednesday's deadline, MLB officials said.

The bid, or bids, will be passed along to Darvish's Japanese team, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, which will have four days to decide which U.S. team will have exclusive rights to negotiate with the 25-year-old right-hander. That team will then have 30 days to reach a deal with Darvish before his rights revert to the Japanese squad.

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The Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals were reported to be the teams most interested in Darvish, The New York Times said.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound hurler was 18-6 for the Fighters last season, with an ERA of 1.44, 276 strikeouts and 36 walks over 232 innings.

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