The Texas Rangers have won bidding rights to negotiate a contract for Yu Darvish, the Japanese pitching star.

The Rangers now have 30 days to establish a deal with Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters for the rights to Yu.

According to reports, the winning bid was priced at $51.7 million.

“Our organization has scouted Mr. Darvish for the last several years and has been very impressed with his abilities and accomplishments,” said the team in a statement. “We believe he would be a great addition to the Texas Rangers pitching staff.”

Last season, Darvish struck out nearly 300 batters through 232 innings.

During the off-season, Texas lost their star pitcher C.J. Wilson to free agency. The team is now actively pursuing Darvish to become his replacement.