Though he had played coy about it at first, it’s been an open secret that Chris Gimenez has been recruiting Yu Darvish to Chicago ever since he signed a minor league deal with the Cubs last month. The two are good friends from their time with the Rangers and Darvish has mentioned privately that Gimenez is his favorite catcher.
The 35-year-old catcher acquitted himself pretty well in Minnesota last season and he’s expected to compete for a backup role similar to the one previously held by David Ross, so the Cubs didn’t sign him to just to entice Darvish.