[Ninkobei]

Good news everyone! Darvish is being posted

The free-agent market for starting pitching is about to gain another significant asset. Japanese star pitcher Yu Darvish of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters will be posted for availability to Major League clubs, according to a tweet sent out early Thursday morning by Darvish's agent, Don Nomura.

Darvish's addition to the list of available starting pitchers has been the focus of much speculation in recent weeks, and it now appears he and his parent club are moving one step closer to turning rumor into reality. Once the posting is made, Major League clubs interested in Darvish will submit sealed offers to the Ham Fighters.

The team with the highest offer will have the exclusive opportunity to negotiate with the 25-year-old right-hander. Any contract must be agreed upon within 30 days or Darvish would return to Japan and the posting fee returned to the Major League club.

Darvish, who went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA and 276 strikeouts for the Fighters in 2011, gained noteriety stateside when he led Japan to the 2009 World Baseball Classic title. He has been one of the biggest stars in the Pacific League throughout his career.

Darvish is expected to be targeted by a number of clubs. The most notable might be the Yankees, who have been said to have interest in the right-hander, and may look to fill out their starting rotation despite a quiet showing so far at this year's Winter Meetings.

It remains to be seen whether the winning posting fee to negotiate with the Japanese star will exceed the $51,111,111.11 the Red Sox bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka in November 2006.