TAMPA — Masahiro Tanaka has shown glimpses this spring why he created such a bidding war during the offseason, and Sunday was another example of how good he can be.
But while his teammates and the front office spoke glowingly about Tanaka, the Japanese right-hander did his best to temper expectations following his outing.
“So far, so good,” Tanaka said through his interpreter. “But once the season starts you’ll be flying into different cities, pitching under different weather conditions and climates. I’ll obviously be experiencing a lot of new things and learning a lot while we go through the season.”
His splitter was effective again in a 4 ¹/₃-inning outing in which he fanned six, gave up a run and threw 74 pitches.
It was enough to impress Brian McCann, who didn’t join the Yankees in Panama in part because he wanted to get more experience catching Tanaka before the regular season begins in two weeks.
“He got outs on every pitch that he has,” McCann said of Tanaka’s performance in the Yankees 7-4 win over the Braves at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
“He’s got a way-above average split; above average slider and split both sides of the plate with his fastball,” McCann said. “He sinks it, he cuts it. He’s not a comfortable at-bat for anybody.”
And it’s that well-roundedness that has stood out to McCann the most.
“He sets up hitters and really knows what he’s doing out there,” McCann said. “It beyond surprises me. It just shows you the experience he has, to be only 25 years old and to understand how to maneuver through a lineup.”
A lineup that included eight players with major league time.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Tanaka’s game the two were able to work on together was the different versions of his splitter.
When asked about several at-bats in which he got strikeouts, Tanaka was asked what pitch finished batters off.
Almost exclusively, Tanaka replied, “splitter” even though many of the offerings seemed to act differently.
“He can put it where he wants,” McCann said. “He can throw it for strikes. He can bury it in the dirt.”
General manager Brian Cashman, who spent much of the offseason downplaying just how good the Yankees expected Tanaka to be, added to the praise Sunday.
“It feels like he’s been here and been a part of this team, this organization, for more than six or eight weeks, whatever it’s been,” Cashman said. “[Hideki] Matsui was like that. He’s kind of just fit right, as if he’s always been here.”
And that’s fine with Cashman.
“He’s just doing his work,” the GM said. “We’ll have enough anxious days when the bell rings.”