Yu Darvish: Which MLB team will get Japan star?

(CBS/AP) The bids are in. Now the waiting begins.

Ever since Japanese pitching phenom Yu Darvish announced his intention to play in the U.S. last week, rumors have swirled as to which teams would pursue him.

The bidding will likely be high. After all, the 6-foot-5 Darvish is considered the best pitcher in the Japanese professional leagues. He was 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA and a league-leading 276 strikeouts last season.

Japanese star Darvish: I'm headed to majors

But before we learn which team wins the right to negotiate with Darvish, his Japanese team, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, must sift through the bids.

Bidding for Yu's posting fee closed Wednesday, and the U.S. commissioner's office said it will notify its Japanese counterpart of the amount of the highest bid, but not the identity of the MLB club that made the offer.

Who could it be? According to CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler, teams in the bidding have guessed the Blue Jays and Rangers would be among the highest bidders (That's based upon the respective scouts having been to see Darvish pitch so many times.) The Cubs and Nationals are also said to be interested.

But what about the perennial cash-waving Yankees? The Bronx Bombers infamously doled out $26 million in 2006 simply for the right to negotiate with Kei Igawa. Well, Igawa's complete failure in the majors must have given the Yankees cold feet as the team entered only a "modest" bid for Darvish and are not expected to win, according to CBSSports.com' Jon Heyman.

The mystery bidders will have to wait on pins and needles for a few days. The Ham Fighters have until 5 p.m. EST Tuesday to accept. If the bid is accepted, MLB will announce the team that won the rights, and that club will have 30 days to agree to a contract. The posting fee will be paid only if an agreement is reached with Darvish's agents, Arn Tellem and Don Nomura.