The key to upgrading the Yankees rotation will be pitching 6,560 miles away next season.
That’s according to reports out of Japan stating Masahiro Tanaka will not be made available to MLB teams by the Rakuten Golden Eagles through the posting system — despite his desire to come to the United States. The Eagles, who control Tanaka’s rights through 2015, will instead offer to double or triple his $4 million salary. There has been no official word yet from Rakuten officials.
The Yankees and Rangers were considered the favorites for the 25-year-old righty, who went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA in leading Rakuten to their first Japan Series crown.
The process of posting players was delayed this offseason while MLB and Nippon Professional Basebal agreed on a new system to curtail posting fees. Under the new system, the posting fee Rakuten could receive maxes at $20 million, perhaps less than the extremely popular and effective Tanaka is worth to them.
“I informed my team that I would like them to allow me to test my abilities in Major League Baseball next season,” Tanaka said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
But that wish apparently will not be granted. Instead the Yankees would have to go elsewhere for rotation help. CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova are the locks for the rotation with David Phelps and Michael Pineda the lead contenders for the back-end spots.
Ervin Santana, Ubaldo Jimenez, Bronson Arroyo and Matt Garza are the top starters left on the market, but the Yankees clearly had made Tanaka their top pitching priority this offseason.