The Yankees are in the Yu Darvish Sweepstakes, The Post has learned.
According to a source with knowledge of the process, the Yankees submitted a posting bid to MLB offices by today’s 5 p.m. deadline.
That puts them in position to cop exclusive negotiating rights to the 25-year-old Japanese right-hander if the bid is accepted by Nippon Ham Fighters for whom Darvish has pitched since 2005.
The amount of the Yankees’ bid wasn’t immediately known, but the club had been leery of sinking a possible $30 million into the bidding process believing Darvish would be seeking a five-year deal worth $75 million on top of the posting fee.
Nippon has until Tuesday at 5 p.m. to accept or decline the winning bid.
If accepted, the bid winner has 30 days to exclusively negotiate with Darvish. If a deal isn’t reached, the MLB club gets its money back and Darvish returns to Nippon.
As of 7 p.m. tonite night the only other known team to make a bid were the Cubs.
Ever since Yankee scouts saw the 6-foot-5 Darvish across the past few seasons, the club has respected his talent that has produced a 93-38 record and 1.99 ERA in seven seasons facing hitters who are inferior to MLB batters.