With Masahiro Tanaka pushing to cross the Pacific Ocean, the Yankees are saving up for their next big pursuit by going bargain-shopping in other aisles. On Tuesday, they plugged holes by coming to terms with a pair of free agents, second baseman Brian Roberts (one year, $2 million) and lefty reliever Matt Thornton (two years, $7 million), pending physicals.
Tanaka, the 25-year-old right-hander, met with the Rakuten Golden Eagles president Yozo Tachibana on Tuesday and, in a subsequent news conference, disclosed he told his boss he wanted to leave the club.
“I informed my team that I would like them to allow me to test my abilities in Major League Baseball next season,” Tanaka said, as reported by the Associated Press.
Tachibana said: “We told him he is very important to us and we’d like him to stay.”
The matter is expected to be resolved shortly; most MLB officials believe Tachibana will relent and the Eagles will collect their $20 million posting fee from the MLB club that ultimately signs Tanaka.
Even though the revamped posting system hurts the Yankees — they would have preferred to pay more on the posting fee and less on the player’s salary, because the former isn’t subject to the luxury tax and the latter is — they remain highly interested in Tanaka, so much so they intend to compete for his services despite the reality that landing him would destroy the remote chance they currently have of getting their 2014 payroll under the $189 million luxury-tax threshold.
With a need for another potential frontline starting pitcher, the Yankees don’t find free agents Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez or Ervin Santana appealing. Nor do they view the trade market as encouraging, even with Brett Gardner as a potential chip for the right arm. That strengthens their enthusiasm about Tanaka, whom they scouted extensively in 2013 as he put up a 24-0 record and 1.27 ERA in 28 games (27 starts) totaling 212 innings, as does his international appeal.
With so many voids to fill, the Yankees secured a couple of low-cost, low-ceiling options Tuesday. Roberts, 36, has spent all 13 years of his big-league career with the rival Orioles. A flurry of injuries has rendered him a part-time player; he hasn’t reached 100 games or 300 plate appearances since 2009. A switch-hitter, he put up a .284/.327/.441 slash line in 110 plate appearances against lefty pitching in 2013, and he owns a career .262/.339/.377 from that side of the plate. So he could serve as a platoon partner for the recently acquired, lefty-swinging Kelly Johnson as the Yankees patch the immense hole left by Robinson Cano’s departure.
Thornton, 37, tallied a 3.74 ERA in 2013, splitting his time between the White Sox and Red Sox. While he limited lefty hitters to a .235/.267/.370 line in 89 plate appearances, Boston chose to not use him at all in its postseason run. Thornton becomes the successor to Boone Logan, who recently signed a three-year deal with Colorado.
Adam Hubble, Thornton’s agent, said his client prioritized joining a contender and getting the security of a two-year deal. The Yankees guaranteed the contract and hope to deliver on the contending.
To fill out their infield, the Yankees are looking for a righty-hitting third baseman. They have spoken with the representative for Mark Reynolds, the free agent who finished the 2013 season with them and showed off his power.
The Yankees also are interested in free agent Jeff Baker, who has played more outfield than infield in recent years, but who raked lefty pitchers last season at a .314/.407/.667 rate in 123 plate appearances.
“He’s OK at third base on a limited basis,” one American League talent evaluator said of Baker, on the condition of anonymity. “His arm action is a little awkward, so his throws are not always accurate. Second base is more of a stretch.”
The AP reported the Yankees’ luxury-tax bill for 2013 is $28 million, based on their record-high payroll of $237,018,889. They have now paid over $250 million in luxury-tax fees since the system went into effect for the 2003 season.