WEDNESDAY, 3:32pm: Tanaka's posting will begin Thursday morning and be completed by January 24th at 4pm CT, a source tells Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). Teams can place their bids – up to $20MM, of course – starting tomorrow morning (link).
TUESDAY, 9:50pm: Rakuten Golden Eagles president Yozo Tachibana announced that Tanaka will be posted, according to a tweet from Sankei Sports tranlsated by Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links).
9:23pm: The Golden Eagles will announce momentarily that Tanaka will be posted, according to Jim Allen of Kyodo News (on Twitter).
5:35pm: The Rakuten Golden Eagles have decided to post star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, according to reports from Japanese outlets Sponichi (link) and Nikkan Sports (link). It's a turnaround from reports last week that indicated the Golden Eagles were leaning against allowing Tanaka to make the jump to MLB.
One MLB source tells David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com (on Twitter) that he believes the Cubs will not be outbid for Tanaka's services. Convincing Tanaka to come to Chicago, however, could prove to be problematic, according to that source. "This is exactly type deal that Theo [Epstein and] Jed Hoyer will be all in on. However, will Tanaka say no to the [Yankees, Dodgers, and others]? Not sure he will," the source told Kaplan (link).
Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com (Twitter link) adds that the Angels and Diamondbacks – who have been quite vocal about their fondness of Tanaka and overall need for a frontline starter – should also be in the mix for his services. Tanaka being posted also means good news for other free agent pitchers who have been in a holding pattern as clubs have waited for the top domino to drop.
Rakuten was planning a record NPB offer for Tanaka – roughly $7.7MM USD – but that's significantly less than what he's expected to get from an MLB club. One GM recently told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that Tanaka was certain to receive a deal worth more than $100MM if posted.
Per the Sponichi report, team President Yozo Tachibana acknowledged that the process is moving into its final stage. When asked if the team was set on a decision, Tachibana said, "Yes, it looks that way … We're completing the final procedures."
It seems likely that the Golden Eagles have been dragging their feet in large part because of the reduced posting fee that they would receive under the new system. While the Japanese clubs holding the rights to predecessors such as Daisuke Matsuzaka and Yu Darvish saw major financial windfalls, the new system caps Rakuten's maximum posting fee at $20MM.
Special thanks to Aaron Steen for his Japanese translation.
Merry Christmas. Let the bidding begin.
More like circus begin!
Considering only 6 teams (dodgers, Yankees, rangers, mariners, angels and maybe a dark horse candidate like the orioles) have their sights set on him and realistically have a shot it’s more like a carnival not a full blown circus.
Mariners have nothing to offer but Cano and a long stretch of ineptitude. The Rangers have pretty much spent their way out of the bidding with the Choo acquisition. The Angels are the epitome of free spending with no direction – they are a train wreck. The Dodgers can contend with the NYY, but they are stacked and they are not as desperate as the Yanks to pull out all the stops to secure another front-end SP. Any alleged “dark horse” bidders will remain in the dark without a leg to stand on (a 3-legged mule like the Cubs or Orioles is a joke not worth discussing).
This is a two team race and the NYY ABSOLUTELY will not be outdone to secure the anchor to their rotation for the next 5-7 years.
I have a feeling the biggest reason MLB attempted to negotiate a $20M posting fee, is that it would get ALL the small/medium markets involved, all while generating a higher salary for the player…which in turn impacts these large market teams that always push the Luxury Tax threshold.
The only problem with Yanks, LAD, and Angels is that these 3 are facing Luxury Tax issues.
Cubs are saying they won’t be outbid, but will Tanaka actually want to go to the Cubs? I really doubt it.
With Seattle’s 2014 payroll sitting at $80M, they have an amazing about to throw at him. Close proximity to Japan. Some of the top legendary Japanese players going thru Seattle: Kaz, Johjima, Ichiro (in his HOF years w/Seattle), and now Tanaka’s ex-teammate putting up #3 CyYoung numbers.
I really think he’s Seattle’s to lose! But of course each of us will be very biased towards each of our teams and why ‘our’ team will sign him. lol
Dr, the luxury tax is not an issue for the NYY or the LAD; they aren’t cash-strapped. They both have lived in the $200M neighborhood for several years with no stress aside from the anguish of knowing they are putting money in the pockets of the smaller market clubs.
Your feelings about Seattle are pointless at this time because they are NOT a contender. Ichiro is CURRENTLY playing with the Yanks; Kuroda is CURRENTLY a Yankee; the legendary Godzilla Matsui is an advisor to the team. I think that has more drawing power than alluding to Asian players “passing through” Seattle. As far as the close proximity to Japan, he isn’t going home on off days. If you use that logic, Cano would still be in NYY. Cano went with the highest bidder and so will Tanaka.
In this case, no one will outbid the NYY. He would truly represent the final piece to their offseason plan and no team has the ability to outbid the NYY when they are determined to secure a player.
I hope NY goes over their $189 million limit and continues to share the wealth with everyone else.
That’s a given at this point!
So do I. Then for their whole roster to be hurt and then all those players will laugh all the way to the bank. I loved this past year when however many millions of dollars were flushed down the drain because peopel go on the 60 day DL for a missing eyelash these days.
Please refer to the attached example: Cliff Lee.
Exactly how did that work out for Lee in Seattle, huh?
dodgers have lived in the 200mill neighborhood for several years? you mean 1?
Yes one (so you got me on a fax paus). Well, welcome to the neighborhood from now on. I was actually trying to equate the Dodgers in the legendary strata with the Yanks, but on second thought, let’s see how they measure up:
NYY – 27 Championships, 40 pennants
Dodgers – 6 Championships, 9 pennants
That amounts to 21 years of championship catch-up by simple math.
Yankee fans….always living in the past.
Cool. I wish I could jump on the bandwagon too….
Seattle has a pretty high Japanese population so to say it’s “pointless” is arrogance on your part….
When you only have one place in the world a ball player can go to play at a higher level and for more money, you’re sort of at their mercy. MLB is a monopoly and I’m sure the $20 million cap was there way of leveraging that position, and making the owners happy in the process. Although, you have a great point about more teams being able to at least compete for these guys.
You nailed it on the head. But the other teams only need to match or better the cash the NYY put on the table. SEA did it and now has Cano (they will most certainly regret that in 4-5 years, but they rolled the dice and won). Simply follow their lead.
Not to mention Choo isn’t in pinstripes this year after his offer from them…
Fact of the matter is, New York isn’t as hot a destination as it used to be. Players who want money join the Yanks. People who want to play baseball go elsewhere.
Good point about the Luxury tax issues, however the Angels would hardly be punished by much, they would only have to pay a little over 1m. It will be worth it.
You’d think the Nippon’s players union had a say in this. I can’t imagine the Japanese league players enjoy a huge chunk of money that the player thinks is a part of his value and something he earned kept by ownership.
The posting fee does not factor in to payroll
The Cubs have already identified as a serious bidder. I don’t think they’ll get him, just saying to insult teams, you never know when some FO falls in love with a player until the huge contract is signed.
Bill, it wasn’t meant as an insult to the Cubs. I actually wish they would have a better turn of luck because they are a solid organization with great player history (Banks, Sutcliffe, Sutter, Sandberg, et el). But they are a snake-bit team that even the genius of Epstein is having trouble turning around.
They may indeed make a serious bid, but they don’t stack up to the history, allure and current contending status of LAD or NYY.
Also, look at the intangibles of Tanaka’s charismatic personality and his wife’s modeling aspirations. Where does that fit best: in the media-centric, mega-wattage cities of NY-LA (very similar to Japan) or Chi-town?
Dollar for Dollar, the NYY will not be outbid by anyone on this.
So you have said, many many many times. Are you making an authoritative statement that the “NYY will not be outbid” or trying to convince yourself?
Obviously, the 27 Championships and 40 pennants hasn’t resonated with the NYY haters, so “yeah” redundancy is mandated.
Guess what, I don’t have to “convince myself”, I’m a proud NY’er and live the thrill of ALWAYS having a team that goes ALL OUT to be the champion EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
FYI, “NYY will not be outbid” (just for the road).
LoL. How many championships? I keep forgetting since most of them were so long ago. I’m sure the Yankees won’t be outbid either. They have no choice but go all out to get this guy. He’ll be the difference between finishing 3rd in the AL East versus 4th or 5th for the Yankees.
Japan is not a city and you are the biggest NY homer on the boards. Its not that the Yankees cant afford Tanaka its that if they pay him 120mm it will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 180/6y after their tax bill. This would essentially make him the highest paid pitcher in mlb history.
Very respectful argument, sorry I read it the wrong way, Merry Christmas!
Don’t rule out the Rangers…if they can sign him, they can then trade one of their current starters (and other players) to free up $$$$$. The owners have deep pockets, so don’t count them out.
Exactly which of the Rangers pitchers are you going to trade to free up money?? They will NOT trade Holland, Darvish, or Perez. Harrison doesn’t make enough money to really warrant a trade to free up some money. Plus, his injury last year will make other teams weary of acquisition.
Believe it or not Holland has been mentioned as well as possibly Ogando. Though not a pitcher, throw Moreland into that mix. I cannot imagine Holland, but Ogando for sure.
Derek Holland took a HUGE step forward this year, and is signed to a very team friendly deal. The Rangers explore every avenue, but will only trade a player under the right circumstances. Holland will only be involved as the centerpiece for a true ace under control for a considerable length of time.
I just agreed with you on Holland…” I cannot imagine Holland…”
The Texas heat is enough to drive people mad though.
It’s hot for everyone, not just the Rangers!
Yes please!
Sound and fury…
The Mariners have a rich history of Japanese players, and a Japanese ownership, and a large Japanese-American fanbase.
Cubs will out bid everyone . Don’t lose draft pick and young for when the cubs make playoff push. Theo kind of guy. Go cubs go
How about the Dbacks and Cubs?
Perfect number for an “Anchorman” style front office battle…
The Blue Jays are definitely in the top 5 favorites to get him, they have the means and the need for him. This has seemed what A.A. has been waiting for.
I would be surprised if he goes to the Jays, O’s, Mariners, or Cubs. I think he will go to a contender. Every team could use a pitcher like Tanaka, it just depends on how much you want to over pay for him and where he wants to go. This will be the first time a Japanese player has had his own choice.
Phillies already said they were in
Posting for show and realistically being in on a player are two completely different things
Obviously you haven’t been reading many of these articles… You left out the Cubs.
Most people missed the sights set on him and have a realistic shot. Cubs, diamondbacks, phillies may have interest but it’ll come down to Dodgers, Yankees, Angels, mariners. If the dodgers or mariners can get tanaka that’ll eliminate their involvement in David price and save the prospects; thus they’ll toss 107 mill his way instead of 107 mil and prospects for price. That being said Yankees need an ace going forward and won’t hesitate to pull the trigger. Serious interest and really wanting him doesn’t qualify for a circus when really 4 teams will outdo the rest of the league.
How do you know that teams like Washington, Cubs, Arizona, White Sox, Mets, Phillies and of course Boston, aren’t going to be in?
It doesn’t cost them a dime to post 20 million if they’re not signing Tanaka.
Logically, all 30 teams will post the 20 million fee, just to be in the conversation.
It’s one thing to post the 20 million and another to really try and sign him. This is going to be a big over pay and a big gamble for the team that gets him. The Yanks and the Dodgers appear to be the only teams that could absorb this kind of mistake.
How do you know it’s going to be a huge overpay?
It is free bogus PR to post for everyone from now on, simply to feign interest,
Oh please. Even if teams don’t need Tanaka, they’ll still pursue/bid him. He wouldn’t hurt, and if you lose, you can drive up the cost for the team that does win him.
I hope he goes to anyone but the Yankees or the Dodgers
“Mystery team”
Keep him away from the other AL East evil empire, too. Y’know, the one in Boston. (Would love to see him in a Nats uniform; then again, it’s not my money.)
Nats have four front line starters already, it wouldn’t make much sense to throw money at this guy. Now the O’s would be a fantastic destination but we all know that’s not happening.
Phillies
I predict the Yankees will sign him, there too desperate in need of pitching to not sign him.
Makes perfect sense to me.
If many teams pay $20 mill, he can pick which team to negotiate with. That all depends on what team he prefers.
no, he can negotiate with all of the teams that offer the maximum posting fee, basically like free agency with a 20 million dollar extra price tag to the winner.
Someone has to make up for the train wreck of Sabathia who gave up more runs than any pitcher in the AL last year. Still got to pay that contract though.
Christmas miracle!
If the Dbacks can get him then they could take over the division
Riiiiiggghhhttttt! Good luck with that.
I don’t see why that’s not plausible.
I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, but I don’t think it’s likely. Even if Tanaka is a 4 WAR SP, they probably only added 8-9 wins. That still puts them 2-3 behind the Dodgers, regardless of what the Dodgers do.
I don’t think it’s likely either but it is baseball, where anything can happen. I expect the D-backs rotation to continue to make strides and I’m not so sure the Dodgers lineup will continue to be as good as last season. While I expect Hanley and Puig to still put up great numbers, I’d be shocked if either replicates their slashes from the previous year.
Because their pitching is leagues behind the dodgers….
They would be serious contenders for a wild card but I dont see them beating the dodgers for first
They would be serious contenders for a wild card but I dont see them beating the dodgers for first
Dodgers or Mariners or Diamondbacks or Red Sox.
Mariners or topped out. Dbacks have no chance against big dogs. The angels are going to give him 150 +. Done deal. Arte likes all the foreign fans. Ala hideki matsui
Mariners aren’t actually topped out. Jack Z said they’re willing to spend for “the right guy.” Seems to me Tanaka would be the right guy since they want to add one more starter. Just got a fat new TV contract. They need to spend that cash.
They got Hideki Matsui when he was at the edge of retirement..I really do not see how that is pleasing any fan,
M’s are not topped out. They still have 20 million at least to spend this year
It’s gonna take that much just to talk to Tanaka’s agent.
Luce “topped out”? Seattle with a $80M 2014 payroll right now, and Howard Lincoln telling media he will surpass the $95M budget from last year. Plus the add’l $25M this year MLB TV that every team gets, a paid off stadium at Safeco Field as of this past year, and buying out Direct TV for ROOT Sports Network.
Since it appears you are an Angels fan Matt, you should realize that Angels will be over the Luxury Tax “if” they end up signing Tanaka. So this $150M+ deal you are ‘thinking’ Angels get him for I think you are way off. I don’t see him going to the Angels personally, nor LAD, nor NYY for the same reason.
angels will go over the luxury tax for the right player….. this is something that is needed for the team… the angels can go over the Luxury tax for one year and stay under the next im sure if arte goes all in like he did with pujols he will get tanaka facing darvis this year coming up
Or Yankees
Or Yankees
Well this should be fun. Sign him KT!!!!!
It’s going to be a merry Christmas for one team out there.
I would love to see him in Seattle with Iwakuma. He wants to play on the west coast, so we will see.
Just a guesstimate, but he’s looking at 6-7/130MM. Not sure the M’s management would allow that, but the draw Ichiro brought was tremendous, so I would actually be surprised if the M’s weren’t up towards the top (didn’t say top) of the final bid.
M’s have 20 – 30 M left to spend. I think probably only the Dodgers and stankees may have more $ available.
Smart baseball commentary must always end with the stankees
the yankees have no money left if they want to stay under the luxury tax threshold.
I hate the Yankees, but if they decide to go over they might as well go all out and get their payroll back to the $220m range.
I read reports that ‘if’ they are over the luxury tax this year it will devastate their franchise for years to come, where as being over next year won’t have that impact.
It would have been better for the Yankees if Ratuken waited to post him until next offseason, then I would say noone would outbid the Yanks.
It’s gonna be VERY interesting…GO M’S!!!
Dr, the NYY will NOT be devastated by staying in luxury tax purgatory. Are you really serious or is your Yankee hatred getting the best of you???
The Yanks enjoy operating in one of the most robust marketing arenas in the entire world. They have a lucrative TV contract. Their fan base is dedicated and will routinely fill out every home game and they effectively leverage the power of their brand monetarily all over the globe. Exactly how do you suspect that they are suddenly going to be belly up if they bust the “189” goal?
Adding Tanaka will re-energize the fan base. It will also open up additional marketing opportunities. I’m sure they will secure some revenue deal with a major Japanese media provider to simulcast Tanaka’s scheduled days on the mound. Other revenue streams will present themselves for the NYY to reap the benefits from AND, assuming the team is successful, they will have the foundation to build the post-Jeter era with.
You can have Cano. We’ll gladly take McCann, Ellsbury, Kuroda (again), Beltran and Tanaka as our big haul during the Hot Stove season.
At least Jack Z and Jay Z can share a Vente Mochalatte at Starbucks.
It’s amazing how many more M’s fans there are now, compared to a month ago.
That may be true, but in my defense, I have rooted for this team and their losing seasons for a very long time.
Which I have no problem with, and I hope for your and similar fans’ sake they can field a competitive team for a while. It’s just hard seeing band-wagoners all over the place (which i regrettably see being a Yankees fan all the time).
Teams need the bandwagoners though. Is a great source of revenue for them.
Which I have no problem with, and I hope for your and similar fans’ sake they can field a competitive team for a while. It’s just hard seeing band-wagoners all over the place (which i regrettably see being a Yankees fan all the time).
Thats why the Yankees attendance and viewership has been dropping. Yankees are all about name recognition to bring in the fans and sell those jerseys. They will have to build up that minor league system and get some pitching if they have hope of going anywhere.
The Yankee hatred doesn’t cease. Even with SLIGHTLY diminished attendance and fallen viewership on YES, their attendance records still outpace almost 90% of the league and the viewership radius is GLOBAL (YES is broadcast in some capacity over the span of the planet with Yankee fans from Mali to Melbourne).
Sure, the team is about BRAND recognition. What successful franchise isn’t???? Who – Starbucks? Macy’s? Apple? Dallas Cowboys? Los Angeles Lakers? That is the ultimate goal of business; to have your BRAND valued across the globe.
As far as “going somewhere” I guess 27 Championships and 40 pennants is pittance to you, huh? This is the FIRST year we have missed the playoffs in eons and ONLY by what 7 games with a beat up and broken lineup. Not too shabby by ANY standards.
Now we’ve restocked and are poised to return to the postseason with McCann, Ellsbury, Beltran, Kuroda (again) and soon to be, Tanaka.
Next argument.
Big stars do not win Championships and never have good players do. Look at the Championships teams of Luis Soho, Scott Brosius and Girardi. No All Stars there but a team of clutch players. What those teams had were great pitching and good defense. When you lose a 43 and 41 year old player and you restock and the team gets older something is wrong. Better get some pitching because a team with not a single position player under the age of 30 and most players best seasons come at 30 or less shows the direction the team is going. Losing their only All Star did not help either. No argument at all here. Its just facts and facts are that Yankee attendance has fallen ever year since 2009. BTW..Yankee way overpaid for McCann who has been going down hill for 4 years. Catchers after the age of 33 fall off in production. Fact is Thurman Munson was done at 31 and signing him to a 5 year with option for a sixth and paying twice what Saltalamacchia means they paid double what he is worth. Salty is better catcher hitting 42 doubles last season and hitting 25 hrs the year before.
It was a beat up line up because they were old brittle player. How about 4 outfielders over the age of 35 this year; Ichiro, Vernon Wells, Soriano and Beltran. Well maybe if it was 2005. With Yankee ticket prices they have to win because New Yorkers do not support losing teams especially when $50 box seats are close to $400 a piece. They had low attendance even when best seats were $6 a piece. Guess we will see but its all about pitching.
For the umpteenth time, “189” is a goal, NOT a mandate. The overarching mission of the NYY is to ALWAYS field a CHAMPIONSHIP level squad and trepidation of the luxury tax will not deter that now or ever.
The Steinbrenners are still the owners and they understand the importance of accentuating the brand.
If Tanaka is a $15-20M grab, the NYY will not have any problem accommodating his #.
M’s have 20 – 30 M left to spend. I think probably only the Dodgers and stankees may have more $ available.
Get em Cubs. 6 years/150 million. He has no other reason to sign in Chicago other than the money.
Definitely looks like the Cubs will get him and I’m happy about that.
Cubbies have a better chance of signing Mr. Magoo than of getting Tanaka. Theo is a genius, but your team is NOT a contender and Tanaka is NOT coming fresh off a Championship to join a team mired in a millenial swoon that also holds the dubious record of both the longest league pennant drought and the longest World Series drought in history.
Sorry!
You’ve got to plug the holes in the life raft before you take on passengers.
That’s like Felix, Kershaw money for a SP that’s never played in MLB. I just don’t see him hitting that high of $$$ personally.
Kershaw money will be like nothing anyone has ever seen before. He is going to by far get the largest contract for a pitcher, and probably anyone, in baseball history.
The Cubs don’t even have a decent team to bring him to, and a long ways from contending, and a LONG ways from Japan to visit!
money
what are you talking about!? the Cubs are on the cusp of contending and should have at least a 70-80 win season this year. and by next year we should be starting to contend Tanka can only help our team and would be a great center piece to work the rotation around…Castro and Rizzo should improve, and we have Almora, Baez, Bryant, and Soler all coming up within the next year or two not to mention Lake who did decent last year in his rookie season
On the “cusp of contending”? Hmmm, about the same as saying “on the cusp of winning MegaMillions”.
Cubbies have been saying that since 1908.
I know you guys love your team, but GEEZ!
You are NOT a contender!
A $170MM commitment for a guy that hasn’t thrown in MLB is rough. Then again, Darvish cost the Rangers about $108MM.
Hoping the Rangers can convince him.
It’s possible….if they can sign him, then they have the flexibility to trade a SP, Ogando, and Moreland for a DH-type (if it really takes that much to get one). That would free up some $$$$ to allow this to happen.
Buckle up, friends.
Mariners better push hard for him… Tanaka definitely fits “the right guy” mold Jack Z was talking about spending on. Do it, Jack. At least be active.
Can’t wait to see the AAV of his future deal.
Finally!
Well, it is my understanding that the Yankees want to stay below the 189 million dollar threshold. I suppose that little idea will be thrown out the window?
The Dodgers have assembled one of the greatest bullpens ever, if everyone behaves and gets along and stays healthy. So why would the Dodgers need him? So maybe there’s hope for the Cubs. The Mariners would be interesting. I don’t know where Tanaka is going to go, but it was nice of the Powers that Be at Rakuten to let Tanaka be posted.
The “new” plan is to either be under 189 or go way over. No point in going over if they end up at like 192.
I’m no Yankee Fan but you are exactly right. They are going to get so HARD with the Luxury Tax as it is, but the more payroll the higher the Tax goes. Even if they go all out and jump payroll back to $220M, isn’t that like $110M Extra they have to pay to MLB in Luxury Tax? OUCH
You don’t even know how MLB payroll work. Where did you get $110M from? The luxury tax is assessed at a varying percentage on teams over the cap which would be 189 million this year. Therefore if the Yankees do go over this year, they would pay either 40 to 50% of the amount they went over the cap which is hardly 110M. Around 20M to 35M by rough estimates but the revenue they gain from fielding a championship team is 80M.
You pay on what you are over, not total. Is just like normal tax rates. When you jump from a 0% to a 5% tax bracket you don’t pay that on whole income, just amount in the next bracket.
If they get under the % resets to a lower level. That is why even though the Dodgers and the Yankees had roughly equal payroll, the Yankees paid way more.
So happy to hear this even though it’s unlikely he signs with my team. It’s going to be very exciting watching him take the mound for the first time next season!
Welcome to NY Tanaka.
Dbacks please!!! PLEASE GOD.
Finally, this has been the biggest build up for no apparent reason. Now all that’s left is for the A-Rod verdict to come out and we can all stop with the unnecessary drama. But, YAY! BIDDING WARS!
I’m gonna say he gets 7 years at about $140MM because I was to see it get crazy.
That would be pretty crazy. I don’t see it getting that high, but how desperate the Cubs are they just might make that type of offer. Doesn’t mean Tanaka will go to the highest bidder either.
I’ll say he gets 8yrs at 145MM with a AAV of 17 million and a 9 million signing bonus. Specific.
I’d take that.
There’s almost no reason not to pay the 20 mil and get in for any team. Remember, the player gets to choose his location this time, so he may not take the largest contract.
Exactly!
KT… I just finished Christmas shopping and went over my budget to make my family happy. Now do the same with yours and make Diamondback fans happy 🙂
Yankees will offer 7 yrs 180-200mil
No.
If my Dbacks don’t get him, I do indeed hope it’s because a GM does something that crazy.
Tanaka is not getting $30 million a year before throwing a pitch in the big leagues.
Lol, no. He may get around 7 yr/$120 if I had to guess.
Could see 7 years, but doubt at that value. Darvish cost $108M I doubt that Tanaka completely blows that out of the water, he is pretty similar level.
It will absolutely cost more for a team to reel in Darvish than it did for the Rangers to get Darvish. The bidding war aspect of this all but assures that; however, it’s completely absurd to think Tanaka will get 7 years $180 million. If the Yankees want to make him the highest paid pitcher in baseball history. then so be it, but I can think of a lot better ways to spend $25.7 million per year.
Right. Every team had the chance at Darvish too, they had to win the posting, but I’m sure many of them had a general idea of what he was worth and how much to bid. They probably knew the cost would be around $100M most likely, salaries have gone up since then, and fa might up the amount a bit more, but I really don’t see Tanaka getting 70% more total cost compared to Darvish.
i think only the angels do that
I don’t
Thats like Arod Money on a AAV. Kind of funny you mention those figures. lol
HECK NO!!!!!!!!!!
5-7 years and the AAV is probably $15-19M
It’s about time it’s going to be between the Dodgers or Cubs you’ll see
1. CC Sabathia
2. Masahiro Tanaka
3. Hiroki Kuroda
4. Ivan Nova
5. Michael Pineda
1. Tanaka
2. Corbin
3. Bradley
4. Miley
5. McCarthy/Cahill/Delgado
Why the thumbs down? I’m just dreaming.
Some people will downvote anyone who says that he won’t sign with their team.
Make him the ace of a rotation in a league he has never pitched in right off the bat? Yikes.
Worked for Darvish.
He is not Darvish
Really? Thanks for clarifying. I thought he was for a second.
No problem, It was evident that you clearly had thought the two were equals for whatever reason.
DBACKS make the most since. The Cubs are not contending and the Yankees are tapped out as the Angels. The dodgers don’t need him… This is the only piece of the puzzle missing from the Dbacks then they could make a couple small moves like flipping Cahil for more farmers. ..
ok you’re right
He makes the most sense to a small budget team?
Yankees are far from tapped out, they just want to be smarter about it.
DBACKS make the most since. The Cubs are not contending and the Yankees are tapped out as the Angels. The dodgers don’t need him… This is the only piece of the puzzle missing from the Dbacks then they could make a couple small moves like flipping Cahil for more farmers. ..
3.90 era in first season is solid, but not ace like.
Darvish started game 3 of the 2012 season. He was not the #1.
Feliz Hernandez/ Hiroshima Iwakuma/ Masahiro Tanaka/TaijuanWalker/ James Paxton-
Gimme some lovin for dat—-
Don’t you mean Nagasaki Iwakuma?
Seattle could land BOTH Tanaka and trade for Lee:
Felix
Lee
Iwakuma
Tanaka
Walker AND Paxton (Due to them both being on limited PCs)
Gimme some lovin for dat—–
Because they really have the money to add 3 $20M players in one winter, after having a payroll of $84M last year?
If memory serves, Lee did not like Seattle.
Happy Hernandez!
Shark
Tanka
Wood
Jackson
Arrieta or Rusin
Pretty good rotation IMO. I’d hope for another veteran to take the #5 spot and NOT depend on Pineda or even better one to take Nova’s #4 position and push Nova to #5. He was good but he’s been inconsistent.
Agree
No way I would rely on Pineda. He wasn’t even ranked in the top 100 prospects in Seattle, and came out of nowhere, put up incredible #s in the 1st half since he could throw 99mph.
Pineda only has 2 pitches. His ERA will continue to be in the 4-5 range. Bet me on that one!
“He wasn’t even ranked in the top 100 prospects in Seattle” No? he wasn’t ranked 16th in 2010? And he wasn’t a part of the M’s top 10 list every year he was eligible?
On the contrary, I think the #5 spot SHOULD be used for Pineda/House options. They need to give younger guys a chance, or they’ll never know what they can do.
Dont worry about the haters. Tanaka is a Yankee.
Pineda will never throw another ML pitch
Because you say so?
Im sure people thought the same about Chris Carpenter at some point
That not even funny.
As recently as fall 2013, Pineda was pitching in the minor leagues and had a good era with a fastball at 92mph. Any sane person would know that he is progressing towards the major leagues and will be in time to showcase his stuff for #5 starter in spring training.
And the Yankees will still win that trade…
Trade is far from decided, but still think Yankees could be in good shape. Montero and Noesi have been terrible. Campos and Pineda haven’t done anything in the majors, but they look to have potential.
Pineda is still questionable, at this moment Phelps is 5
Give me Nuno
Not yet
Not yet
He is 26. Nuno will never blow you away, but he could still have a solid career.
Not yet
Pineda has by far the most upside though. We know what Phelps is pretty much, and Nuno seems about the same. Gotta give Pineda a chance to prove or disprove himself.
I’d like to see some more of Warren.
with that starting 5 the Yankees would still be lucky to walk away with an 80 win season.
Lol with the improved offense (except the loss of Cano) that prob makes them a 90-95 win team once again
Funny how Pineda and his 2 Pitches are automatically entered into your rotation.
could all the Dodger signings today be to show Tanaka how commited they are to winning?
I doubt he cares about that honestly. Location and contract structure will matter most to him. He’s not a veteran pitcher desperate to win a WS or something.
Yeah, finalizing the Uribe deal will really excite Tanaka.
Well, that escalated quickly.
No, no it didn’t.
Cubs will sign him no doubt in my mind.
-_______-
-_______-
Tanaka said that he wants to play for the Yankees or Dodgers. My guess is that the Yankees will out bid everyone else.
And where is that “quote” from?
The Onion Sports Network.
The Onion Sports Network.
We know the yankees can out bid any team but I dont remember when tanaka said “he wants to play for the Yankees or Dodgers”
Out bid anyone not named the Mariners.
Really -____-
He just said it by hiring Casey Close as his agent.
Tanaka never said he wanted to play for the Yankess= he said he wanted to play on the West Coast- he said he wanted to play the Yankees….
Tanaka has said he wants to play on the west coast anywhere not named Oakland
It’s fine. We don’t need him anyway for our 3rd consecutive division title.
Corbin is better than CC anyways at this point of their careers. He would be in the same situation heading over to NY.
I guess your Christmas present to everyone is stating irrational things. Thank you and Merry Christmas.
So nice of you to give him a present. There’s nothing wrong with calling the best pitching prospect in the game your number one starter.
No he isnt, CC is still the most durable innings eater in the game. He will be back in form next year
I respect NY, and CC… he’s had a great career but I don’t think he’ll be the same again. Hope he proves me wrong.
I respect NY, and CC… he’s had a great career but I don’t think he’ll be the same again. Hope he proves me wrong.
Why dont you think so? his problem was he still thought he could throw 96 mph. Im sure hes realized that now, and has been working out those little kinks
His problem was arm slot and losing the rest of his balance because of his weight loss.
His problem was arm slot and losing the rest of his balance because of his weight loss.
A large part of his problem was that his arm slot dropped too much, and his breaking pitches turned into meat balls.
Why dont you think so? his problem was he still thought he could throw 96 mph. Im sure hes realized that now, and has been working out those little kinks
He doesn’t have to be the same to be useful.
I respect NY, and CC… he’s had a great career but I don’t think he’ll be the same again. Hope he proves me wrong.
Hope so for NY’s sake cause it will be very ugly for them if he isn’t
Haha yeah its been building up for such a long time…
Just read his twitter feed. Okay fine it’s made up, just like anything kuroda has said or wanted to do in the past few years.
Tanaka to the bronx would be a sweet Christmas gift
I hope the Angels sign him!!
the angels havent issued that totally stupiid contract so far, now is their chance
Don’t get ahead of yourself, Jason.
Let him get ahead of himself! It’s Christmas!!!
Its never Christmas for the Cubs though
We can always hope Christmas will come next year.
We can always hope Christmas will come next year.
Nor you buddy lol. Unless he just doesn’t care about money I’m sure the Cubs will go hard for him. Down vote away “-)
NYY vs LAD bidding war… i dont see chicago/arizona being in the run besides saying they are..
Cubs will get him. They’ll get insanely dumb to make this deal. Just watch. It’ll top 180m.
i hope no team pays more than 120… it would be ridiculous
$120 sounds about right, but you never know when a bidding war ensues. Wait, cross that, you know at least one thing – this bidding war won’t come close to $180 million.
i hope no team pays more than 120… it would be ridiculous
Just got off the phone with Tanaka and he said he’s coming to Arizona. It’s official. I don’t speak Japanese but I’m pretty sure that’s what he was trying to say.
Based of this recent tweet it appears you are right. “いえいえ”
If the Blue Jays’ AAA Manager, Tanaka’s old manager, hadn’t just quit, I might have given the Jays a better Chance, that said, I am with the person who said not the Yankees or Dodgers, but will also throw in Red Sox!
lol
Come home to the Dodgers, baby!
Angels could give him 7-126m, lots of Japanese fans in Anaheim
Weaver
Wilson
Tanaka
Santiago
Richards
Kershaw
Greinke
Tanaka
Ryu
Haren..
way better
Felix
Iwakuma
Tanaka
Walker
Paxton
Even better.
i like it but no.. lol
i like it but no.. lol
CC
Tanaka
Kuroda
Nova
Phelps/Pineda
Even better
CC bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa — be lucky to get 10 wins out of him, Kuroda mmm maybe 12 wins, Nova hahahahaha Pineda won’t pitch in MLB again.
I would argue but generally when people use wins as important stats it’s not really worth it.
Agreed, wins are a team stat. But just a matter of looking at the stankees lineup, they are not going to end up higher than 3 in the AL East.
Nobody will argue with you because of your lack of maturity.
now that was a real adult response
Twas indeed
So the M’s have a better offense than the yankees? interesting….
Agreed, wins are a team stat. But just a matter of looking at the stankees lineup, they are not going to end up higher than 3 in the AL East.
Agreed, wins are a team stat. But just a matter of looking at the stankees lineup, they are not going to end up higher than 3 in the AL East.
This post shows that this site’s commenting policy is a waste of time.
CC bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa — be lucky to get 10 wins out of him, Kuroda mmm maybe 12 wins, Nova hahahahaha Pineda won’t pitch in MLB again.
Astros:
Tanaka
?
?
?
?
Even better
CC
Tanaka
Kuroda
Nova
Phelps/Pineda
Even better
CC
Tanaka
Kuroda
Nova
Phelps/Pineda
Even better
Tigers shock everyone like they did when they signed fielder
1. Scherzer
2. Verlander
3. Sanchez
4. Tanaka
5. Porcello
Even better.
Okay that one wins. To bad they traded Fister though. Oh wait,
1. Strasburg
2.Zimmerman
3.Gonzalez
4.Tanaka
5. Fister
Not better, but sounds good
Felix
Iwakuma
Tanaka
Walker
Paxton
Even better.
Such insecurity. Where in his post was he saying Angels would have a better rotation than the Dodgers?
he doesn’t and that not what i am replying to.. simply cross town rivalry stuff… i want my team to improve more than theirs 😛
All is well friend.
I feel like you’re just lashing out for no reason.
That’s the wrong kind of feel to have.
Tanaka
Wacha
Chewbacca
Binaca
Boom-Chakalaka
Really wish the Red Sox had room in their rotation. Santa Cherington, please make room?
Come on Rube…
Yes please
Yes please
Yes please
yes! if the Yankees are willing to crash through the luxury tax threshold, then the Phillies should be too! Argh…too many long-term contracts on a declining team, though, so I doubt Ruben & Montgomery pull the trigger…..
It could, however, be their one BIG move to re-invigorate the fan base
CC
Tanaka
Kuroda
Nova
Phelps/Pineda
That is good, I hope i wake up tomorrow seeing Tanaka to the Yankees is a done deal..hell maybe even tonight.
I think Mariners
I predict he will sign with a baseball team.
pssh ya right
im pretty sure LA Galaxy was about to win this bidding war
Well, the Cowboys need a QB now that Romo is out for the season….
Maybe they can try to borrow Russell Wilson from the Rangers…
Well, the Cowboys need a QB now that Romo is out for the season….
So you’re saying not the cubs?
I see what you did.
That is a bold prediction, my friend.
Curious to see how interested the Dodgers are. We’ve heard varying reports, I’m glad he’s been posted so instead of seeing reports I can just see what they do. Go time for everyone now.
Just got off the phone with his agent. Confirmed that Tanaka is retiring.
Let’s be honest, he’s going to get Cole Hamels/Matt Cain/Zach Grienke money.
How many teams out there are willing to give out a 6yr/120 or 7yr/140 contract + 20 Million posting fee.
probably quite a few. Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, maybe Texas, Tigers are known for their questionable decisions..
probably quite a few. Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, maybe Texas, Tigers are known for their questionable decisions..
probably quite a few. Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, maybe Texas, Tigers are known for their questionable decisions..
He should go to Nationals.
oh dear god. their rotation would be stacked
that’s the goal.
that’s the goal.
oh dear god. their rotation would be stacked
He should go to Nationals.
He should go to Nationals.
Well the Twins have signed every other starting pitcher this year. I wonder how many jaws would drop if he ended up there. I’m not even a Twins fan and I would love to see that happen just so everyone can be wrong together.
That would finally give them a number 1 instead of the bunch of 4 and 5’s they signed
Well the Twins have signed every other starting pitcher this year. I wonder how many jaws would drop if he ended up there. I’m not even a Twins fan and I would love to see that happen just so everyone can be wrong together.
Well the Twins have signed every other starting pitcher this year. I wonder how many jaws would drop if he ended up there. I’m not even a Twins fan and I would love to see that happen just so everyone can be wrong together.
Looks like the dodgers are going to go all in for him ive heard
So something like the Sabathia deal?
So something like the Sabathia deal?
So something like the Sabathia deal?
Looks like the dodgers are going to go all in for him ive heard
There are only a few teams with the money available to sign him. Dodgers, Stankees, M’s and Angels.
Rangers and Diamondbacks are in there too.
Rangers already got Fielder and Choo on their payroll, I’d put their chances to get Tanaka at slim to none.
There are only a few teams with the money available to sign him. Dodgers, Stankees, M’s and Angels.
have this guy throw even one pitch against MLB talent?
Hey that’s an idea…lets schedule a try out with Tanaka pitching to the 10 best batters in both leagues:
1. Trout
2. Stanton
3. Cano
4. Davis
5. etc etc etc
AND at Safeco Field (pitchers park) for one day…
and then the next try out bing in Arlington (a hitters park)
That will get things pretty exciting.
Oops I ment to say Arlington 1st…then the 2nd tryout in Safeco…so Seattle has the chance to corner him and not let him leave until he signs! ;0
I really really like that idea. Honestly as a GM I would want that. This guy may not even pan out. I would want to see what he has.
have this guy throw even one pitch against MLB talent?
Very shocked by this. As a fan of baseball I’m obviously thrilled to see what Tanaka can do in the states, but wouldn’t have blamed Rakuten for a second for not posting him. Merry Christmas Masahiro!!!
$5 says mediocre just like all the others.
Just like Darvish?
Or Iwakuma
Or Hideo Nomo?
Or Matsui. Or Ichiro. Or Koji Uehera.
Or Kuroda..
Or Hideo Nomo?
Or Iwakuma
Na, more like Dice K. Or Kenshin Kawakami.
Na, more like Dice K. Or Kenshin Kawakami.
More like Tsuyoshi Shinjo, the golden boy of Japan who came and ruined his immaculate career in the states. Bad luck signing with the Mets.
Edit: He is still a baller in Japan, didn’t hurt his credibility so much.
Shinjo the golden boy? You don’t know anything about Japanese baseball.
During last 20 years, only a few could dominate like Tanaka.
Ichiro, Matsui, Dice-K, Darvish.
And they all did well in MLB. (Dice-K prior to injury)
Only those 4 were treated as “the very best” player during their time.
Just like Darvish?
Very shocked by this. As a fan of baseball I’m obviously thrilled to see what Tanaka can do in the states, but wouldn’t have blamed Rakuten for a second for not posting him. Merry Christmas Masahiro!!!
The article says Tanaka’s contract will go over 100 mil. That is a lot of money for an unproven player and pitchers break.
Exactly! I think he tops out at $120m.
The article says Tanaka’s contract will go over 100 mil. That is a lot of money for an unproven player and pitchers break.
Come on Rick Hahn, one more international splash this off season.
Sale, Tanaka, Quintana, Johnson & Rienzo
I left Danks off because I think he & Beckham both will get traded by spring training. That would clear more money to sign him. Hopefully Danks/Beckham go to Toronto in a deal for Sanchez. Picture the rotation with him in it (minus Rienzo or Johnson of course, who could be moved for an upgrade somewhere else). They all would be around 25 yrs old each. Nice young rotation to build around.
It would be amazing, but highly unlikely.
It would be amazing, but highly unlikely.
It would be amazing, but highly unlikely.
I was thinking the same. The fact that a bid cannot be more than 20. Works in favor of a mid market(I know they are in Chicago but the cubs rule this town) like the sox. Plus with Adam Dunn coming off the books next season. And assuming a trade of danks, even eating half his contract, plus all the money saved from the rios and peavy deals. They could easily afford him
Come on Rick Hahn, one more international splash this off season.
Sale, Tanaka, Quintana, Johnson & Rienzo
I left Danks off because I think he & Beckham both will get traded by spring training. That would clear more money to sign him. Hopefully Danks/Beckham go to Toronto in a deal for Sanchez. Picture the rotation with him in it (minus Rienzo or Johnson of course, who could be moved for an upgrade somewhere else). They all would be around 25 yrs old each. Nice young rotation to build around.
Come on Rick Hahn, one more international splash this off season.
Sale, Tanaka, Quintana, Johnson & Rienzo
I left Danks off because I think he & Beckham both will get traded by spring training. That would clear more money to sign him. Hopefully Danks/Beckham go to Toronto in a deal for Sanchez. Picture the rotation with him in it (minus Rienzo or Johnson of course, who could be moved for an upgrade somewhere else). They all would be around 25 yrs old each. Nice young rotation to build around.
now theres a report tanaka might not be posted -_________-
now theres a report tanaka might not be posted -_________-
Well apparently there are reports that he will not be posted by some Japanese news posts. Check out Dylan Hernandez and his tweets. Once again…conflicting reports. I feel like we should wait until they officially announce something, because this is beyond ridiculous.
Well apparently there are reports that he will not be posted by some Japanese news posts. Check out Dylan Hernandez and his tweets. Once again…conflicting reports. I feel like we should wait until they officially announce something, because this is beyond ridiculous.
Looks like they have said they’re not going to post tanaka by sources of dylan hernandez twitter page
Looks like they have said they’re not going to post tanaka by sources of dylan hernandez twitter page
It’s a Merry Christmas indeed!
Now Yankees, make my avatar come true!
If it does happen, mind if i use your avatar?
Go for it!
If it does happen, mind if i use your avatar?
It’s a Merry Christmas indeed!
Now Yankees, make my avatar come true!
Please Jerry/Arte break the bank on this guy. Think of the Tanaka v. Darvish/Tanaka v. Iwakuma matchup revenue alone. The AL West would be a gold mine for the Japanese market.
Please Jerry/Arte break the bank on this guy. Think of the Tanaka v. Darvish/Tanaka v. Iwakuma matchup revenue alone. The AL West would be a gold mine for the Japanese market.
only large market teams need apply. small market… just remember you exist only to be a minor league stop for the big 5
Tell that to STL. They are doing s good job beating the big 5 consistently.
only large market teams need apply. small market… just remember you exist only to be a minor league stop for the big 5
only large market teams need apply. small market… just remember you exist only to be a minor league stop for the big 5
I wonder if Cashman sent Ichiro and Kuroda to do some sweet talking to Tanaka
I’m sure Tanaka only wants to speak to the Yankees friend Benjamin.
I’m sure Tanaka only wants to speak to the Yankees friend Benjamin.
That might be the only reason Ichiro is still on the team.
He performed below ML level last year.
I wonder if Cashman sent Ichiro and Kuroda to do some sweet talking to Tanaka
Make it happen KT
Knowing Kevin Towers, he will give the Eagles $20M and then throw in Archie Bradley for no reason.
Knowing Kevin Towers, he will give the Eagles $20M and then throw in Archie Bradley for no reason.
Knowing Kevin Towers, he will give the Eagles $20M and then throw in Archie Bradley for no reason.
Make it happen KT
Make it happen KT
Fish is quite popular in Japan. Last I checked Angels had the best kind…
Fish is quite popular in Japan. Last I checked Angels had the best kind…
‘Bout time.
‘Bout time.
I am pretty sure Tanaka will not want to play for the NYY’s due to all the old old guys on the team.
But then he could call Sabathia his sensei
I highly doubt Sabathia would teach Tanaka much… much more likely that he would be called Sabathia-senpai.
Respect your elders!
I am pretty sure Tanaka will not want to play for the NYY’s due to all the old old guys on the team.
I wonder why Rakuten changed their minds.
I’m guessing that he wanted to come state side. They made him their best offer but it’s not even close to what he will make in the US. It makes sense why he would not forgo the opportunity at $100 million, potentially. They always said they will let him go if he cannot be convinced to stay.
If Tanaka goes to either NYY or dodgers the salary will put them over the limit and cost them an additional 14 or so million dollars. So the true cost will be like 35 million for either team to sign him.
Guaranteed the Rangers will join the 20 mil bidders club. I think from there, it only partly becomes about the money. Tanaka will look at the club and its competitiveness and the Rangers should make his short list. Unless somebody grossly overpays Tanaka, the Rangers have a pretty good shot.
They’d have to exceed their stated budget by a long distance.
This is a pointless conversation … I’m not a Yankees fan (don’t give a hoot about the AL in fact) but it’s so obvious he’s going there. Only chance of it not happening is if the dodgers go to $25m/yr or something. Everyone else is just buying a lottery ticket and hoping.
I don’t think it’s as obvious as people think it is. I think the M’s, Rangers, and the Dodgers all have very good chances as well.
Will Yankees and Dodgers bid the most? Probably. That doesn’t mean he’s going there.
Yes, and those who say the Rangers have topped out don’t realize how deep the pockets are and that if they can sign him, then Ogando-Moreland-whoever will be gone to free up some $$$ to offset the signing. Those trade pieces could then bring the Rangers the DH they need so badly.l
He can take, what will surely be, the NYY’s obscene paycheck, but hopefully there’s more to Tanaka’s decision-making than that. I don’t think the Yankees will outbid everyone as much as the fans on here think.
There are many other destinations that he will have to choose from: Seattle, LAA, and Texas I feel will all put in highly competitive offers. Obviously I’m hoping the Rangers get him, but it has to make sense. You can’t give this guy $20MM annually before he proves himself. If it gets to that point there’s no problem bowing out.
he and Darvish are very good friends hopefully he will help bring him to Texas
Iwakuma and Tanaka were good friends in Japan. 🙂
Come on dbacks suprise me just once.if not garza.please sick of seeing l.a and n.y buy the world
Let them buy the world…they haven’t won the big one after doing so
The Yankees and Red Sox have.
Tell me how many times in the last 10 years the Yankees have won??? The original comment referred to L.A. and N.Y., not Boston.
Angels will go all in and do what it takes to get him. They need him the most and have the assets to get the job done.
M’s have more available money than the anaheims
I’m pretty sure they’d exceed the luxury tax thresh hold next year to land him.
The angels would, so add another 15 million to the budget
So when does the actual bidding start?
One day after the posting for 30 days only
I doubt LAA will land Tanaka but it should help make Garza more affordable.
What kinda deal does Garza get? like the Hughes one you think?
No lol
Garza will get more than Hughes. I’m think this will bring him down to 4/60 instead of 5/75
Yankees fans are going to find a present under the tree from Santa Cashman.
wont happen – he will cost 20 per at the minimum. Add in the 15 million dollar luxury tax and the stankees will be out of the bidding.
Never count the Yankees out.
Is it A-Rod
I actually do predict the Cubs will get him, I hope I’m wrong and he winds up with the Yankees but that is just my gut feeling.
Me too man.
I can’t see the cubs spending $120+ million on him.
Nobody sees the red Sox as a possible destination? Teams have inquired about Lackey, Doubront and Peavy. Im sure they could move someone to make room. Besides, if they did go over the LT its only 17.5% and they have a lot of $$ coming off the books after 2014, so it would reset. Just a thought…
No I don’t see it sorry. The Red Sox will likely get higher offers on trades closer to spring training or at the very least once Tanaka is off the market.
According to sources a official announcement of Tanaka Posting At 11am Japan time
Nationals?
Come on, KIA Tigers! Time to make your move!
Yankees, Angels, Cubs, D’Backs names have been tied to Tanaka.
Breaking: Golden Eagles to Post Kevin Youkilis
What would be really funny is if the Yankees put a max bid in on him.
Yankees had a 7 yr 140 mil offer for choo even after the Jacoby deal..they are going to go all out for tanaka
I got raked through the coals earlier that I thought the Yankees will go all out for Tanaka. It is not what I want to happen, it is what I think will happen.
Them, and I suspect, the Mariners. If they spent everything big on just Cano then they’re still staring back in the standings.
Thats a very good point
But they offered that before beltran, who knows how much they’re willing to spend now
I would think the M’s go big for Tanaka. Keep young studs and spend the rest on Tanaka.
The M’s have starting pitching prospects that are close to the majors. I would think they would spend their money on offense.
Who is left to spend those dollars on? All the talk of M’s goo g after Price. Tanaka would make more sense then depleting farm system for a rental player in Price.
I could see the M’s being serious players for Tanaka. They would have a rotation that would keep them competitive without needing much offense.
Ms have a Japanese owner group, they “always” had an extra budget for Japanese players.
Paging Sandy Alderson to the white courtesy phone.
In other news:
AA, Kawasaki, and Tomo Ohka have been spotted in Japan.
It would be amazing if having Ohka and Kawasaki on the Jays actually influenced Tanaka’s decision. It likely won’t though.
Kawasaki absolutely won’t…
Ohka might… not much though.
Astropolis was banned from the M’s site, and now here she is again.
Hopefully the bidding process is pretty quick. I can’t really see any reason for that to take all that long. Most teams already know if they are putting up the $20 million or not.
I wana see what the contract offers look like right out of the gate.
Offers cannot be made until the day after he is posted. Then all teams have 30 days only to negotiate.
However I believe the new agreement allows the teams with the top 3 offers to negotiate.
From what I read, any team that puts up the $20 million will be allowed to talk contract with Tanaka. It won’t be limited to a certain number of teams.
I thought there would be a couple days to get bids in, then the teams that fork over the $20 million could start negotiating.
The real question that needs to be answered is how long of a deal is Tanaka looking for. Does he want a 6- or 7-year deal where he all but guarantees only a deep-pocketed team can afford him or does he want to be crafty about it? If he turns out to be as good as expected, Tanaka might be better off taking a 3- or 4-year deal to get to 27 or 28 years old and then hit the market again before turning 30. He could cash in twice instead of signing a deal that would let him return to free agency after passing what would probably be his best seasons.
Finally, someone with some brains. If Tanaka were smart, he would take a 3-5 year contract then become a FA…the shorter the contract length, the better his odds of making bucks later. In that short time he will be able to prove his worth very quickly…which I think he will.
People will quickly realize the cubs have deeper pockets than anyone and when they rebuild they will never look back as theo collects worlds series trophies .
Hahaha. Cubs have a really nice system except they are missing pitching at every level from rookie ball to the majors. Unless they can come up with butt load of pitching and fast, Theo will have to trade some of his prized hitting prospects for pitching. Never good to trade everday players for pitching since pitching breaks so easily. Cubs are on a good track. They have a ways to go to be truly competitive.
You’re awfully close to a mad scientist “Fools! They’ll live to regret this!” style rant here.
hope angels sign him
1.jered weaver
2.tanaka
3.C.J wilson
4.Garret richards
5.Tyler skaggs
Would be nice but the whole league will be in on Tanaka. It would be smart to scoop up Garza while the rest of the league is chasing Tanaka
Garza is plan B
Being un-biased: you really shouldn’t give Garza a lot of money/years. He’s not worth nearly what he’ll get paid.
As a Rangers fan: I really hope you sign him : )
How long have you been a rangers fan since 2010
Early 90’s. Still clinging to 2002?
Angels need to try and get Trout signed long term before spending money on any other player. Dipoto was on Clubhouse confidential other day and got nasty when questions of try to sign Trout long term. Gotta wonder is the FO and Trout relationship is already strained?
dude hes under control for 4 more years by then weaver cj wells and hamiltons contract will be finished no matter what trout wont hit free agency till hes 30 angels have alot of money coming off the books in the next 2-3 years arte will make him the highest payed player in history mark my words he wont hit free agency
Just do it Sabean
he’s spent all of his funds overpaying his own stars
The big contracts on the Giants are Cain, Posey, Pence.
Honestly, I really like tanaka. It is a risk to sign him to a 7 yr 180-190 mil but he is worth the risk. I just hope he goes to the yanks
A big contract to a pitcher is always a big risk. Pitchers break.
The difference is most pitchers that sign that sort of deal in free agency are already 30 years old. If a team signs Tanaka for 7 years, his deal would end when he was 32.
A 30 year old pitcher is a bigger risk. A pitcher at any age is a big risk.
Thats not going to happen. There is no way he gets $27 million a year before throwing a pitch in the ML. He is not worth that kind of risk.
That’s Arod money and Pujols money AAV, but those were also top AllSTars before they signed huge contracts. Tanaka hasn’t pitched 1 pitch in MLB yet. $20M/yr is even pushing it.
That was the Japanese way of saying Merry Christmas.
Bottom line is this should get the free agent market going again. Teams are waiting on Tanaka before they start going after Garza, Santana, Jimenez, Arroyo, etc.
6/100-110 sounds about right. Go get him, Theo and Jed.
I’m thinking 7/100-120
Doubt the Cubs would want to give a pitcher a 7-yr deal. Heck, I doubt they want to give a mostly unproven pitching commodity 6 years, but I think 6 is where negotiations will at least start.
Amaro if you’re listening, get this one
2 year deal
maybe 5-6
You’re funny.
Matsui, Kuroda and Suzuki are on or has played on the Yankee. I’m sure some if not all of them would recruit Tanaka over to the Yankees. Especially with Yankees offering a top offer, there is no reason for Tanaka to not go to the Yankees. He is not a Grienke, he thrives in pressure most recently winning the NPB championship in 2013. Two top Japanese pitchers, two tall Dominicans and an obese black pitcher. #28 for NYY
Not to mention, Darrell Rasner, Andruw Jones, Casey Mcgehee and Kevin Youkilis are all playing for Rakuten now. They could also have some pull.
Yes, but they’ve also collectively played for teams like the Dodgers, Mariners, and Angels so I don’t think that is a major consideration in his mind.
Let’s see Matsui Yankees wouldn’t resign, and Yankees are already talking about dumping Ichiro and trying to trade him already. His HOF years were in Seattle…not with the Yankees.
Welcome to the NYY Tanaka! and have a very ho ho ho! Merry X-Mas everyone!
Again… I’ll believe it when the actual words come out of Tachibana’s mouth. And there is already one Japanese newspaper saying he won’t be posted. These aren’t so much rumors as they are educated guesses.
Pot calling the kettle black. NYY can’t criticize other teams when it comes to bad long term deals.
And did Arte learn from that? NOOOOOO!!! He went out and did it not once, but twice and the Angels tanked both times.
At least when the NYY overspends, there is October ball for their fans. I guess the Angel fans can always travel to Los Angeles and watch the Dodgers play in the fall.
Isn’t that like a 5 hour drive…. each way?
Arte will sign him. Have not been in the playoffs the last three years. Orange County natives are getting restless. Arte does not want attendance to decline
yay!
I can see Darvish pulling Tanaka to Texas. I’m just not sure that they have the money Tanaka wants. ( may or may not be worth it) Then again, you can never count Daniels out.
I can see Tanaka pulling a 5/6 yr $95-110mil
The rumors are that the bidding is going over 100 mil.
I really hope that he doesn’t break the 100 mil amount. He is unproven, and is not a Darvish. I would rather miss on Tanaka then breaking the bank on a bust.
I really hope that he doesn’t break the 100 mil amount. He is unproven, and is not a Darvish. I would rather miss on Tanaka then breaking the bank on a bust.
Darvish might be too jealous that the posting rules were not changed when he was posted. Also, Seattle, NY and Boston have Japanese pitchers on their staff who could influence him, and NY still has Ichiro.
Darvish might be too jealous that the posting rules were not changed when he was posted. Also, Seattle, NY and Boston have Japanese pitchers on their staff who could influence him, and NY still has Ichiro.
I like Tanaka, but I’d rather extend Darvish. If they thought signing Tanaka would put any kind of strain on a new Darvish deal that’s where I would stop.
He’s going to get well over $100MM in my opinion. He’s regarded as being the top pitcher on the market by a wide margin. And the top free agents get crazy money now. And keep in mind, he’s 25! Most of the top free agents are nearly 30 or maybe even 30 already when they sign these big deals. He’s going to be highly sought after.
IMO, only 3 teams have the chance to land Tanaka. NYY, SEA, LAD.
West coast teams like angels, dodgers, mariners can easily explore Asian/Japan market. 20M posting fee is basically free of charge.
Angels got some big contracts, and need to lock Trout, probably wont in it.
luxury tax or not, never count out the Yankees.
Ahhh, a man with good common sense (except that part about including SEA – “it ain’t happenin’ with the NYY purse open and ready to dole out the dollars”).
And you do know Mariners is owned by a Japanese group, right?
Ms “always” had an extra budget for Japanese players.
Just like Robbie Can?
Don’t be surprised if the Red Sox sneak in here. They could then trade both Dempster and Peavy who are on the last year of their deals to make room and stay under 189. With the uncertainty of Buchholz shoulder and of pitching prospects in general, I can’t see them not being in on him.
Yankees are in cheap mode now and probably won’t offer him enough to grab him since it will blow 189 out of the water, even if Arod gets suspended for a whole year.
Good luck with finding any takers.
Don’t be surprised if the Red Sox sneak in here. They could then trade both Dempster and Peavy who are on the last year of their deals to make room and stay under 189. With the uncertainty of Buchholz shoulder and of pitching prospects in general, I can’t see them not being in on him.
Yankees are in cheap mode now and probably won’t offer him enough to grab him since it will blow 189 out of the water, even if Arod gets suspended for a whole year.
Tanaka has stated his desire to pitch on the west coast. That said Dodgers , Mariners seem to be most logical. Yankees , Angels , Cubs, Dback, will all be bidding to change his mind. I put my chips on the Dodgers at 6yrs/$126 million
Dodgers dont really have a need in the rotation. I bet 6/120 to the Angels.
Agree the Angels have the bigger need but Dodgers are driven to be viewed as globally elite. Dodgers were trying to engage Rays on what it would take to get David Price in a trade so I’m sure they would rather pay $ for another front line starter than gutting their farm. If it’s not Dodgers I hope Angels do it. Even as a Dodgers fan I want to see Mike Trout play in October
While the Halos do need pitching more than the Dodgers, LAD will go after him if they want to make a serious run at the title. Billingsley won’t be back until May at the earliest and who knows what they will get from Beckett after his surgery. Billingsley, Beckett and most likely Haren won’t be around after this season so Tanaka would fit nicely in both the short term and long term plans of the Dodgers.
While the Halos do need pitching more than the Dodgers, LAD will go after him if they want to make a serious run at the title. Billingsley won’t be back until May at the earliest and who knows what they will get from Beckett after his surgery. Billingsley, Beckett and most likely Haren won’t be around after this season so Tanaka would fit nicely in both the short term and long term plans of the Dodgers.
It’s official, he has been posted as the announcement comes from their team president according to Dylan Hernandez. Sweet, this is like the Offseason Part II. Going to be the Tanaka signing then all the other pieces come flying off the board. Might even sprinkle a Price trade in there. Really hope the Yankees scoop him up, but competition should be crazy.
C’mon Dodgers!
C’mon Dodgers!
Merry Christmas…. Tigers Fans!
Awesome! Should be fun watching the bidding war. Here’s hoping the Angels at least take a shot and, if they don’t win, go after Garza.
i’m sure Arte is up to something. Uh oh…
Lets go Cubs, need to get this guy. Pitching doesn’t look too bad if the Cubs could sign Tanaka. But, knowing our luck he will land with the Yankees or Dodgers
The interesting part of this for me, as a Cubs fan, is seeing how much the Cubs offer. For the past two years, a large contingency of Cubs fans have complained that the Cubs are disguising their rebuilding efforts as an excuse to go cheap – that their refusal to enter free agent bidding wars isn’t because the club doesn’t want to pay 30-year old players for past performance, but instead, because the club doesn’t want to spend the money to put a representative team on the field. Well, this is going to come to a head with Tanaka. As a potential ace just entering his prime years, he represents Epstein’s first real chance of throwing money at a guy for future performance as opposed to past performance. I doubt they’ll land him, but anything short of a 7-year$116 million offer would be a huge blow to Epstein’s credibility for the remainder of the rebuild – or his tenure as Cubs President, whichever ends first.
There just hasn’t been any top free agents that fit the age range the Cubs needed to have when they were ready to contend. I think the Cubs will go out to get him
I completely agree. That’s why I think anything short of a very serious bid would hurt Epstein’s credibility. He keeps saying that the Cubs aren’t entering bidding wars because investing long-term in 30-year old players based on past performance is bad business. He doesn’t have that excuse with Tanaka. He’s about to enter his prime and has the potential to be a star pitcher for a long time.
For what it’s worth, I’m on board with the rebuild. I spent a number of years doing PR for minor league baseball teams, and the KC Cougars and Tennessee Smokies broadcasters are both close friends of mine. So I hear all about the legitimate talent that will be coming up in a few years.
I think the Cubs are going to have to have the largest bid BY FAR to get him. That’s what it’s going to take. Teams not contending have to do that. The Nationals did it with Werth, and the M’s just did it with Cano. The Tigers also did it with Pudge Rodriguez. If the Dodgers and Yankees are offering, say, 6 years and $100-110MM, the Cubs probably need to offer at least 7 years and at least $140MM. I don’t see Tanaka choosing to go there if the money is close with other teams that are contenders, particularly the Dodgers, since he apparently prefers the West Coast.
I think the Cubs will be in the mix, but it’s going to take something north of a $16.6m AAV contract, especially if it’s 7 years. This is his opportunity to max his deal because it’s highly unlikely that he will be able to get a bigger contract at 32 and 13 combined seasons under his belt.
My guess it’s going to take something shy of Greinke’s deal if you’re going to lock him up for 7 years. Otherwise, I could easily see him take less years and higher AAV so he can hit the market again before he hits 30.
Well Greinke’s deal was 6-years for $159 million. So even being just shy of that money would be considerably higher than the total cost of the Darvish deal. Figure that the Rangers AAV – contract plus posting fee – was $18.5 million. Greinke’s AAV is $26.5 million. Even if you offered comparable money – say $24.5 million over 7 years – you’re talking about a $191 million investment for a guy who has never thrown a pitch in the big leagues. That’s $80 million more than the Rangers paid to acquire Yu Darvish, and as good as Tanaka was in Japan, most reports say Darvish was a notch above Tanaka in terms of future projection. There’s just no way I see that happening.
What I find interesting, though, is the idea that he might sign a 4-year deal. I hadn’t heard that before, or thought about it, but it makes sense. If he signs a 4-year $85 million deal, he’d still be one of the highest paid pitchers in baseball – and since he’d be eligible for free agency at 29-years old, he’d be young enough to land another huge contract (pending performance, of course.) It would be a similar risk to the one that Cespedes took two years ago.
The interesting thing here is that Tanaka will be a de facto FA so unlike the Darvish and Dice K negotiations, the market will dictate the price more so than the posting fee. I just don’t see how Tanaka would sign a long term deal unless he’s blown away by the terms since he could likely reap the benefits of going back on the market before his 30s. Then again, if it is a 6 or 7 yr deal, it wouldn’t surprise me if he has an opt out clause after 3-4 years a la Sabathia. In fact, i think that may end up being the way to do it. Get a long term guarantee at a good but not bank breaking AAV, but offer the opt out clause as a way to renegotiate the deal after a few years of service.
I thought Greinke was 6/$147MM.
Baseball Reference says 6 for $159. It could be incorrect…
That’s the most he could get, but the guaranteed money is $147MM. It goes up by $2MM in 2018 if he pitches 1,000 innings in the first 5 years of the deal, and the other bonuses would happen if he wins Cy Young Awards and things like that.
Tanaka:
24-0 in 2013
53-9 past 3 years highest ERA was 1.87
30 Complete Games in 76 Starts past 3 years.
Somebody is going to have a Very Merry 2014.
It will be $23 million a year for 7 years. Cubs. They will then sign Shark to 5 years $75 million and have a pretty stout pitching staff.
$23 million per year would technically be a $181 million investment over 7 years when you include the $20 million posting fee. I have no problem coming back later and admitting I was wrong if it happens, but at this moment, I’d say there is no chance any team is going to hand anywhere near that kind of money to Tanaka.
Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s around what he goes for including the posting fee. So really 1 7 year 161 Million total. Market has been ridiculous this year and I anticipate he’ll blow Darvish’s contract away, even though I’m not sure I wouldn’t rather have had Darvish even without the benefit of hindsight.
Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s around what he goes for including the posting fee. So really 1 7 year 161 Million total. Market has been ridiculous this year and I anticipate he’ll blow Darvish’s contract away, even though I’m not sure I wouldn’t rather have had Darvish even without the benefit of hindsight.
If the Dodgers sign him…GEEZ…what a rotation.
1) Kershaw
2) Greinke
3) Ryu
4) Tanaka (I only put Tanaka slotted 4th because he hasn’t proved anything yet)
5) Haren
With the depth of Billingsley, Beckett, Fife, and Magill. Lee is coming up quick…man. This should be an interesting to see what happens.
The Dodgers may feel like they don’t need another starter, but I’d hate to see them pass up an opportunity to have a rotation like that. 100m+ for an unproven (mlb) commodity is pretty steep, but worth the gamble in my opinion.
Yeah I am inclined to agree. The logical side of me is saying they won’t commit $100+ million to a third pitcher (depending on how long it takes to lock up that long term deal with Kershaw). Especially with one of those contracts going to an unproven commodity. We honestly do not know how well Tanaka will adjust to the Majors. He has, from what I can tell, a similar repertoire to Kuroda. Now Kuroda has been successful yes, but not a $100+ million pitcher. The pitches he throws also remind me a lot of the first Japanese import that the Dodgers brought over: Hideo Nomo. Both had a splitter for their out pitch, threw a good slider, and had good command of their fastball. Tanaka though appears to have a little more on his fastball (Nomo always sat around 90-93, maybe 95 every once in a while; whereas Tanaka reports to throw a 4-seamer in the 93-95 range up to 96 sometimes). Tanaka also throws a sinker, which Nomo did not. That could help him get inside on righties if used effectively.
I dunno, as long as he doesn’t go to the Evil Empire, I am ok with that lol.
Good points. Let’s hope Tanaka has more longevity than Nomo did. It seemed like he went downhill quick after his fast start.
Nomo’s major issue was that his raw stuff wasn’t electric enough, and he couldn’t adjust after a while. Plus, when you have that CRAZY of a wind-up, you are bound to run into control issues and deliver-repetition issues (see Tim Lincecum). Know that Nomo’s fastball, at it’s peak, was a 92-93 MPH four-seamer, with no movement. Once he aged a little, the difference in speed between his fastball and splitter went from about 6-8 MPH, to only 3-5 MPH, making it harder to keep hitters off balance. And his slider wasn’t developed enough to compensate for it. Hitters started catching on to his wind-up, and they started sitting on the fastball and letting the splitter go for balls in the dirt all the time.
The big difference here is that, even if he turns out to be a No 2 starter, you’re getting him while he’s in his 20s unlike Kuroda, who was 33 when he signed with the Dodgers. That alone makes it worth the risk. Another thing to consider, Kuroda signed a $15m/1yr deal when he was 37 so it’s not that hard to see Tanaka signing a deal over $100m and that might be a bargain.
I can understand that. Kuroda was a bit older. And the nice thing, I guess you could say, about Japanese players is by the time teams post them at age 25 (or so), most of them already have at least 7 years professional experience in the Japanese leagues. So it isn’t like the teams in the Majors are getting someone who needs “seasoning”.
And Kuroda signed that because the Yankees were desperate for pitching. Everyone knows it was a slight overpay on the Yankees part. Wasn’t a bad deal, just a slight overpay in my opinion for 37 years old. I do wish we could have signed him instead of Haren. I would rather have Kuroda instead of Haren for that extra $5 million.
Evil Empire? That’s like the pot calling the kettle Dodger Blue.
=D Guilty as charged Revery hahaha
Yeah I am inclined to agree. The logical side of me is saying they won’t commit $100+ million to a third pitcher (depending on how long it takes to lock up that long term deal with Kershaw). Especially with one of those contracts going to an unproven commodity. We honestly do not know how well Tanaka will adjust to the Majors. He has, from what I can tell, a similar repertoire to Kuroda. Now Kuroda has been successful yes, but not a $100+ million pitcher. The pitches he throws also remind me a lot of the first Japanese import that the Dodgers brought over: Hideo Nomo. Both had a splitter for their out pitch, threw a good slider, and had good command of their fastball. Tanaka though appears to have a little more on his fastball (Nomo always sat around 90-93, maybe 95 every once in a while; whereas Tanaka reports to throw a 4-seamer in the 93-95 range up to 96 sometimes). Tanaka also throws a sinker, which Nomo did not. That could help him get inside on righties if used effectively.
I dunno, as long as he doesn’t go to the Evil Empire, I am ok with that lol.
Beckett and Bills are essentially worthless at this point are they not? you always have a pretty inconsistent lineup
Inconsistent because of injury. A healthy Ramirez / Crawford / Kemp / Puig / Gonzalez / Guerrero could do some serious damage.
There is no guarantee that players will be healthy.
Hence why I said IF they were healthy they COULD do some damage.
Not worthless if all you’re looking for is a 4/5 starter. The problem is that they’re both coming off injuries, and in Beckett’s case, age.
I just think that if the Dodgers want to make a serious run at the title, they could probably use another power arm as the 3 to matchup with teams like the Cards who seem to have young power arms everywhere. Ryu’s been great so far, but I’d feel better about their chances if he’s their 4 rather than 3 in a 7 game series.
Even last year with the Cardinals’ power arms, Mattingly mismanaged them out of a Game 1 win, and Hanley was rendered pretty much useless due to getting beaned in Game 1…and they still got it to a Game 6. Oh and this was without Kemp. Granted, maybe Kemp never makes it all the way back. Just saying, this Dodger team is right there. With Tanaka? Or even Price, let’s say? They would have to be considered the favorite to win the World Series clearly. They already are in Las Vegas, in fact.
MLB average is 125 starts for a average rotaion. Most teams will need to find around 35 starts other from their top 5 at some point through a season. So Bills and Beckett serve as nice insurance, albeit at $30 million or so….ouch
Neither of those players are worthless at all. They’ve both shown the upside of even a #3 and while that isn’t likely, you cannot call such a player worthless.
I am not going to say Bills doesn’t have value, because he probably doesn’t have much, but he still has a decent amount of potential.
Man just imagine
1. A rejuvenated Sabathia
2. Tanaka
3. Kuroda
4. Nova (Maturing)
5. A healthy Pineda
Thats a hell of a rotation. Hope he signs
I’d say the likelihood of CC rejuvenating himself (absent any PEDs) is unlikely given that his numbers have been sliding over the last 3 years. Can’t really blame him though because he’s been a horse, but to ask him to be your ace is a pipe dream. Better off hoping that Pineda can regain his form.
CCs problem was…he lost weight, as little sense as that makes but it affected his arm slot. Coming off that experience i expect him to at least improve off his bad 2013.
I heard all that as well, but i fail to see how losing weight was a bad thing for Sabathia given his bum knee. Besides doesn’t he have a history of showing up thin(ner) in the spring? Could it have changed his mechanics? Perhaps, but at 33, one has to wonder that his best years are behind him. Happens to the best of them.
I agree with this. The guy is just starting to slide. He can still be good, maybe even very good, but I think his true #1 ace days are behind him. The guy has thrown so many innings and been an absolute workhorse. Possible Hall of Famer if he can put together a decent end to his career.
He just needs to evolve his game and use more of his off speed pitches and stop acting like he can throw 96. Merry Christmas
CCs problem was…he lost weight, as little sense as that makes but it affected his arm slot. Coming off that experience i expect him to at least improve off his bad 2013.
I don’t understand why people keep posting what their team’s rotation would look like with Tanaka in it. I could easily do this on my own simply by looking at a team’s potential 2014 rotation, inserting Tanaka at the top of it, and deleting the 5th starter. Does this exercise add to the validity that Tanaka might sign with your team – does it make it more likely that he’ll sign with your team?
1. Tanaka
2. Samardzija
3. Travis Wood
4. Edwin Jackson
5. Jake Arrieta
…guess that means he’s going to the Cubs, right?
Pretty darn good if Tanaka pitches anywhere close to what he has in Japan and if Jackson can turn it around and at least have his era down to like 4 lol
Nah. It would still be a terrible rotation. Fortunately, Kershaw and Scherzer appear determined to hit free agency next year – at which point the Cubs rotation will be
1) Kershaw
2) Scherzer
3) Tanaka
4) Samarzija
5) Wood
Now, most would call this a crazy pipe dream – however, I did type in the rotation. So that means it’s likely to happen.
haha, good one
LOL Imagine a Giants rotation of Kershaw, Tanaka, Lincecum (back to Cy Young form), Bumgarner, Cain.
Hahaha … The ONLY way the Cubs land Kershaw and Scherzer as a FA next offseason, and Tanaka this offseason is if ALL 3 blow out there arm and all 3 are in rehab together. But hey we all are dreaming for each of our own teams.
I know Scherzer pretty well. The only way he signs with the Cubs as a FA is if you take his family hostage and force him to sign. Even then, he’d be sick doing it. The guy is a serious Cardinals fan and absolutely hates the Cubs.
I agree with you that inserting Tanaka into every teams rotation are ridiculous posts. He can’t play for every team.
Now thats a concept. Hey how about if Tanaka plays for all MLB teams on a lottery based system, so he gets $1m per start. Then in October he gets paid $2M for each start for the teams that are playing in October…Then every team can benefit when he plays for them. lol
Lots of assumptions on here. I would be a little surprised if the Rangers, Yankees, Dodgers, or Angels won this bidding war. They are rich but seem pretty saturated with their salaries. As always, no way to know for sure.
I really don’t see it being an issue for the Dodgers. First off, they haven’t shown any worry about the luxury tax, like the Yankees have for the past 2 seasons. And also, they have $45MM in salary coming off the books next year just from 4 players alone (Beckett, Billingsley, Wilson, and Haren). Granted, there will be some arbitration raises, but there are also players I haven’t mentioned who will come off (Perez, Wright, etc). They have the money. The Dodgers will be interested and making a competitive bid on Tanaka, I promise you that. Now, it may not be the highest bid. And maybe Tanaka will take more money elsewhere or maybe he simply doesn’t want to play for LA. But why wouldn’t you want to play for LA, assuming the money is close? It’s a team that is already the World Series favorite in Vegas without him, is on the West Coast which he apparently prefers, and it’s also a team with a very good history with Asian-born pitchers and, heck, with pitchers in general.
Well everyone whos insisting on putting him in their teams rotations are the teams that are most likely going to sign him. I.e Dodgers, Yankees
Yea… and the DBacks, the Mariners, the Tigers … and my personal favorite: “The Mystery Team” that would field a rotation of:
Tanaka
Wacha
Chewbacca
Binaca
Boom-Chakalaka
So whats the problem? its fun to field rotations. Besides, if the Yankees did get Tanaka. CC, Tanaka, Kuroda, Nova and Phelps or Pineda depending on health is pretty accurate. Not really, “inserting the top starter and deleting the 5th starter”
What’s the point? Simply listing your team’s potential rotation with the addition of Tanaka, and the comment “Wow. So good” is about as useful to this conversation as someone saying the Cubs are terrible. It’s obvious. It’s common knowledge to a baseball fan. And it adds nothing to the conversation.
It does add to the conversation..what are you talking about? “Golden Eagles To Post Masahiro Tanaka” so we speculate and discuss where hes going and discuss what the rotations would look like. What else are we suppose to say? “Ok he got posted”
1. D. Price
2. Tanaka
3. M. Moore
4. A. Cobb
5. J. Hellickson.
ok… go.
hernadaz
kuma
tanka
walker
paxton
So whats the problem? its fun to field rotations. Besides, if the Yankees did get Tanaka. CC, Tanaka, Kuroda, Nova and Phelps or Pineda depending on health is pretty accurate. Not really, “inserting the top starter and deleting the 5th starter”
Yea… and the DBacks, the Mariners, the Tigers … and my personal favorite: “The Mystery Team” that would field a rotation of:
Tanaka
Wacha
Chewbacca
Binaca
Boom-Chakalaka
Whoops. Just scrolled up. You can add the A’s to the list of potential rotations I’ve seen…
Well everyone whos insisting on putting him in their teams rotations are the teams that are most likely going to sign him. I.e Dodgers, Yankees
Might as well, even though this has a 0% chance of actually happening… I can dream can’t I?
1. Parker
2. Tanaka
3. Gray
4. Kazmir
5. One of Straily, Milone, Griffin
25 year old potential no.1 – 3 starter on the FA market. 8/150 to the Yankees sounds about right. Hey, its not my money.
#1 starter is stretching it, even “potentially.” An 8 year contract seems awful risky for any pitcher at any age. But if I were advising Tanaka, I’d push him to the Dodgers. Yanks have not managed their pitchers well in the last several years. I’d have a long talk with Kuroda if I could.
So many teams will put up the $20 million posting few, the problem is, so few will have a chance after that.
I honestly don’t see why any team wouldn’t post. You don’t lose anything.
You post the fee after the contract has already been agreed upon. He is essentially a free agent and can negotiate with any team for a 30 day period.
I see him in Dodger Blue
Clayton Kershaw
Zach Greinke
Masahiro Tanaka
Hun Jin Ryu
Dan Haren
Best rotation in baseball!
From your mouth to Ned Colletti’s ear…
Atlanta, Detroit and Boston have a good argument against that! Dodgers ranked 7th in QS last year, Tanaka will make them better but losing Nolasco is going to hurt them too. Dodgers have the best pitching staff but not the best rotation.
Not Atlanta, sorry. They don’t have a true #1 ace. A lot of very good guys, don’t get me wrong. And maybe one of them emerges into a true ace. But you can’t call what they have now as a true #1 ace. The Dodgers certainly have one, and Greinke and Tanaka would be aces on most teams. Detroit is obviously loaded, and Boston is pretty darn good too, though I would still give it to Detroit between those teams in terms of rotation only.
Atlanta had more QS (the most in the mlb), more IP by the starting rotation than the dodgers, the lowest ERA in the MLB and won more games than LAD…. clearly they are getting by without a “true #1 ace” just fine
And it really served you well in the playoffs, didn’t it? By the way, those stats are skewed by the fact that Greinke was injured. Our top 2 pitchers are better than any you have and I don’t think most people that are objective would argue with me.
Remind me again how the dodgers did in the World Series?
That has absolutely nothing to do with this particular discussion. Try to stay on point instead of just fan-bashing.
Ummm, it did. You said the Braves didn’t have an Ace so they wouldn’t be good in the playoffs and that the dodgers had two. That must mean that the dodgers won it all but they didn’t.
The Dodgers didn’t lose in the playoffs because they didn’t have the necessary pitching, and you know it. They lost for two main reasons: one, because their best hitter was hit by a pitch early in Game 1, and two, because the Cardinals themselves had fantastic pitching.
Ummm, it did. You said the Braves didn’t have an Ace so they wouldn’t be good in the playoffs and that the dodgers had two. That must mean that the dodgers won it all but they didn’t.
Kershaw is the best #1 pitcher but Verlander Scherzer are the best 1-2 punch in the MLB
I wouldn’t put Atlanta or Boston in the discussion. One is young but untested and without a true ace (ATL), and the other is littered with good but aging pitchers (BOS). If the Dodgers do sign Tanaka, I’d be hard-pressed to say that they aren’t the best rotation “on paper.” Nolasco was solid, but his numbers can be replaceable provided that Haren pitches like he did toward the end of last season. Detroit’s rotation is fine as well, but they took a hit when Fister was traded. Plus I’d like to Scherzer have at least a couple more seasons like he did in 2013 before I’d put him among the elite pitchers in the game.
And I wouldn’t put too much stock in the QS. It’s an interesting one, but probably one that shouldn’t hold too much weight as it is by itself a fairly unreliable stat when it comes to wins.
:Bane Voice: Let the games begin!
A week ago they weren’t going to post him… Now all of the sudden they’ve done a 360? Sounds like bribery to me!!! The question is who?
Doing a 360 would mean that they wouldn’t be posting him….
internal pressure from Tanaka and external pressure from the media/MLB/NPB are the more likely cause of this 180
Folks are nuts if they don’t think the Yankees will go all out for Tanaka after not resigning Cano.
Think about it, along with the Angels, among teams who are going to be competitive next season, they have the greatest need for a big rotation addition to their staff it goes without saying. When such an arm is available on the market desperate times call for desperate measures. Tanaka will be rocking NY pinstripes at a press conference in a month’s time.
Sabathia
Tanaka
Kuroda
Nova
Pineda/Phelps
Yankees will gladly overpay and make it back in Japanese merchandising if Tanaka is the real deal, his. NY pinstripe jerseys would fly off the shelves.
Yankees have shown no appetite for Garza, whom the Angels may sign, Ervin Santana or Jiminez. It’s Tanaka or bust.
The Dodgers can say the same thing as far as marketing. And Nomo was the first Japanese-born pitcher to play in MLB and that was done by the Dodgers. That holds weight. Not that I am saying that Kuroda doesn’t hold weight that he’s there with the Yankees now (not to mention Ichiro). Just wanted to throw that in there. As a Dodger fan, I’m just hoping he really does prefer the West Coast and that he wants to join a seemingly stacked team.
“Nomo was the first Japanese-born pitcher to play in MLB and that was done by the Dodgers”
Really? Maybe somebody doesn’t know their baseball history. Check out the name Masanori Murakami. Tanaka can likely bring fan interest wherever he signs- not just LA or NYC or SEA. Sure his “marketing” value could be less in a smaller market, but that’s obviously only one factor in his determining a team to sign with.
I stand corrected, but what I had remembered in my brain was that Hideo was the first Japanese-born player to permanently relocate to the US and play in MLB. I looked up Murakami and he was a reliever with the SF Giants at the end of ’64 and for the ’65 season; he actually made 1 start. Then he went back to Japan to finish his career. So sorry for that, but the theme of my overall point was made. Nomo also lives in Los Angeles today, for whatever that might be worth.
Maybe if they lost out on Cano and hadn’t signed McCann, Beltran and Ellsbury.
This Tanaka drama is going to be interesting. Looking at the speculation on here about what type of contracts he will be offered, my initial gut response is to hope that the Dodgers stay away from 7 / 150 to an unproven MLB commodity. Based on LA’s history of bad signings like Jason Schmidt, it seems like a huge gamble. However the Dodgers may be smart to try to sign Tanaka. Assuming he is as good as advertised, it would give them a great 1 – 5 rotation for next season. But more importantly, it would give them insurance in 2015 should Kershaw walk. They would still have Greinke, Ryu and Tanaka in the rotation.
Shouldn’t the Dodgers be focused on resigning Kershaw who is a free agent after this coming season.
Consider that Kershaw will get the highest contract ever for a starter in baseball history, even the nouveau riche Dodgers have to save some coinage for Kershaw’s deal, unless the Dodgers must be shooting for the first 300 million dollar payroll by trying to add a pitcher they don’t even need.
Greinke could walk after 2015 as he has an opt-out clause, so you could almost say that they with the possibility of Kershaw leaving after next season and Greinke leaving after 2015, does it sound that crazy to add Tanaka? The Dodgers’ owners have even more money than the Yankees. They haven’t won it all in 25 years. I agree that the Yankees have the bigger need and certainly should be able to make a competitive bid, but it would be shortsighted to think the Dodgers won’t be involved. They will be.
Hey I would gladly take Kershaw if the Dodgers want Tanaka.
Kershaw is like the pitcher’s version of Mike Trout hitting free agency.
Guy will get the richest deal for a starter in MLB history and be among the best paid players in MLB.
I think he might get $30MM a year.
If folks want to know where Tanaka winds up just ask yourselves what teams have the the biggest need for him and are desperate for starting pitching, not the Rangers, Dodgers or Mariners, but certainly the Yankees and Angels need another starter in the worst way.
The Mariners were desperate for Cano and we saw what they did.
The pretenders will soon be weeded out if they aren’t desperate enough or competing next season.
This will come down to the Yankees and Angels when closely examined.
I agree with you. I’d put 90% of my eggs in those baskets.
I will just ask myself the right question instead. Who has the most money? Because that is who will sign Tanaka, Whoever pays him the most money, and that will more than likely be the Dodgers or the Yankees.
Difference is Dodgers don’t have the desperation the Yankees will have.
Yankees will be willing to greatly overpay because Tanaka would slide smack dab into the top of their rotation.
We saw when the Mariners got desperate for Cano and the Yankees weren’t desperate for him what happened.
Yankees are truly desperate for a top of the rotation starter, luxury tax be darned.
It is the Yankees that keep vacillating about that luxury tax limit when they could easily afford to blow past it. I think they just hate paying for small market teams to beat them.
With Tanaka they will say to he11 with it and go all out since he fits their biggest remaining need.
Only other team likely that desperate as the Yankees for a starter and is in line to compete next season is the Angels, I suppose the Indians as well, but they don’t seem to be spending this offseason.
The Yankees seem conflicted though. They seem more focused on 189 than winning for reasons I can not fathom. Logically, they should be all over Tanaka, but logic seems not apply to their moves. BTW, the LT does not go to other teams but an industry growth fund and player fund.
Its strange people keep forgetting the Red Sox. They are flush with cash after winning it all last year and could sign Tanaka and stay under 189 (by trading Peavy and Dempster). The Yankees will have to pay 50% of whatever they give Tanaka in tax and the Dodgers will pay 33%. Red Sox will pay a big fat O.
Also, LA and NY have a 12% tax burden for Tanaka while Boston is only 6%. By signing Tanaka Boston also keep the Yankees as a 85 W team.
not necessarily…obviously the player is going to take into consideration the city, fans, probability of winning, media attention, etc. Money is likely the largest motivating factor, but you can’t rule out the possibility that he may not want the NY media spotlight; he may be more content to remain in an (comparatively) obscure scene in Seattle like Ichiro. The whole west-coast-preference perspective may or may not have credibility, but you know for a fact Tanaka already has a particular preference to play in 1-2 cities BEFORE the money numbers even emerge…
If he was not after the money he would have stayed in Japan. With his agent taking 5% and perhaps a backdoor deal with Rakuten taking some more, he will be after the money. Playing in NY he has a 12% tax burden on half his games while playing in Seattle and 18 games in Texas he has 0 tax. That’s where NY is at a disadvantage, that and the cost of living in NY and housing costs. It’s also a 4 hr longer trip to Japan from NY which is important for his family.
He is really the first posted pitcher to have a choice where he wants to play. Most Japanese free agents seemed to gravitate to the WC, although NY had an attraction for some like Matsui.
Tanaka will also consider the park and competition. He will want to look good for his fans in Japan and that means he may be more interested in pitching in the NL for a team like the Dodgers w/o the DH, or in a pitcher friendly park like SAFECO with Seattle. Pitching in the AL east in a park like YS3 is not fun, and not conducive to looking good.
And what makes you think after spending $240M on Cano, and Seattle only being at $80m in payroll for 2014 at this point, that they won’t go all in on Tanaka. I think it will get down to Yanks and Seattle.
Cashman referred to being “Yankeed by the Seattle Mariners” after Cano signed with Seattle, because that’s what Yankees have always done to other teams. And then it was awesome to see the Yankees “Yankeed” once again this offseason as the fought over the only next best 2B on the market.
Can the Yankees be “Yankeed” (I mean “Tankeed”) twice in a row in the same offseason by 1 team (the Mariners). I will laugh my rear end off all the way to October this year if that happens. Since 2000, it was always a dream of mine to see the Yankees miss the playoffs on a $220m payroll. It’s happened twice now, but this year is very unique knowing there is a strong chance they miss the playoffs twice in a row (2013 & 2014).
I find it pretty funny how Tanaka is already being crowned as an ace caliber pitcher before even throwing a single pitch in the MLB. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds like the guy has talent, but is he really worthy of a $100 million plus contract? Dominating in the NPB isn’t even close to pitching in the MLB. I mean scrubs like Wladimir Balentien are super star hitters over there. Only 12 $100 million+ contracts have been given to pitchers in MLB history. Why should a guy who hasn’t even pitched in the MLB be worthy of that much?
You do raise a very good point about the credibility of Tanaka on a guaranteed long term deal and its something that I have thought about.
I think everyone is expecting Yu Darvish type performance, which will of course be remaining to be seen.
Its pretty risky to invest hundreds of millions in a guy who will be a question mark about how he adapts to the big leagues.
Its going to be a huge risk that any team takes that does sign him and keep their fingers crossed that he is Yu Darvish and not Dice K.
This is why I mentioned the desperation angle in my prior posts. The Yankees are THE desperate team for a potential front of the rotation candidate, moreso than the Dodgers, Rangers, heck the Angels seem to be likely to land Garza if they don’t get Tanaka, while the Yankees seem to not like any of those free agent pitchers like Garza, Santana, Jiminez and are putting their eggs in the Tanaka basket. Which is why I think they will go all out, even as big a risk as it is.
Either that or they wait till next season for the even larger bid for Clayton Kershaw, who would be crazy to not test the market, unless the Dodgers give him that supposed 300 million lifetime contract, which likely never happened.
IMO, Tanaka won’t be an Ace, but more like #2-3.
Tanaka’s weapon are his 96 fastball and splitter.
This kind of fastball kills japanese hitters, Dice-K, Igawa, Irabu came to mind.
However, in MLB, only 96 fastball won’t be enough, control on breaking balls to go with 92 fastball is more efficient.
Iwakuma, Kuroda, Darvish to name a few, when you can throw all your breaking balls for strike, you succeed everywhere.
Good thing is, Tanaka got serious guts, this guy just throw first strike all the time and finish off with his deadly split finger.
That being said, a number 2 young SP is worth 18-20M anyway in today’s market. True ace will ask for 25M.
Wang, I never saw Dice K with a 96 mph FB in Boston. Pitching every 5 days he was only at 93. He also could not command his breaking ball very well because of the lower seams on the MLB ball. Also, Tanaka is supposed to have a straight FB, and MLB hitters will kill that if they don’t have to worry about the splitter on the 1st pitch. He will have to mix his pitches up more in MLB.
His declining K rate the past 2 years concerns me. Whats up with that?.
Does that figure take into account posting fees? Because Yu Darvish only gets $60m but the Rangers put up north of $100m to acquire him. In Tanaka’s case, Rakuten will only get $20m of whatever any team thinks he’s worth to get and salaries have inflated dramatically even since Darvish was signed.
It doesn’t make sense for most teams to spend this kind of money, but it makes perfect sense for the Yankees or Dodgers to spend this kind of money. I’d be surprised if the Dodgers didn’t bid the Yankees up just on a matter of principle.
That is why there is a scouting report
Unless he doesn’t want to go there, I don’t think anyone will outbid the Yankees. Out of all the play-off contending teams, they’re the most desperate for him. 189 won’t stop them from getting Tanaka.
Given that he is 25, the Yankees need a starting pitcher in the worst way, they let their best player leave to go to Seattle because they don’t think he was worth a 10 year deal, Tanaka has been part of their thinking all offseason from the start ala getting Brian McCann to catch for example, I will be stunned if he is not in pinstripes for the Yankees.
Desperate need at any cost + Money = acquisition, see what Seattle did with Cano for example. Yankees weren’t desperate to keep Cano at any cost. Seattle wanted him though and voila. Unlike Cano, Yankees will be desperate for Tanaka at any cost though. where they will be willing to keep raising the price to acquire him if need be.
Dodgers, Rangers don’t have a desperate need by any stretch compared to the Yankees rotation questions if they don’t get him.
I’m not sure that being “desperate” is a position of power in any negotiation unless you plan on outbidding yourself. Any team that is willing to pay the $20m fee has a need for pitching so I don’t see that the Yanks are any more desperate than Seattle, Texas, Arizona, Chicago, both LA clubs. The Yanks didn’t reup Cano because it was the smart thing to do given what he wanted. And it’s the very same reason why the Yanks won’t blindly blow away every bid for a supremely talented, but untested, rookie.
You all are saying the Cubs don’t have a legit chance which is not really true. The payroll for the Cubs will be down seeing the Cubs do not have many if any huge contracts and on top of that Tanka will be a perfect fit for when the Cubs are ready to start to contend next year or the year after that and can make the perfect rotation for the Cubs in the future:
Shark
Tanka
Wood
Jackson
Arrieta or Russin
that would be next years rotation and that would be a great rotation in baseball.
With all due respect, we can all dream on Christmas. Everyone’s rotation looks good in December. But pitching in Wrigley? Joining a rotation that’s unproven? With an organization that hasn’t won since forever? He’ll go to the Cubs… if they offer a major premium over the Yanks.
If the Yanks can land Tanaka the 189 cap is out the window. They will spend even more to try and obtain Balfour and Drew. If they can get all three they will be the favorites in the East.
So all they need to do is commit $500 MILLION to make themselves favorites to win the division? Sounds easy enough
They just have to keep payroll at 2013 levels.
I don’t know about being favorites, but they will certainly be competitive. They do have a lot of older and brittle players, so injuries could strike them down, and there is no guarantee Tanaka does not turn out to be another Daisuke or Igawa
Red Sox according to Steamer projections will lose about 15 WAR due to regression and downgrade at 3 positions. They might make a run at Drew if the Yankees land Tanaka.
Don’t think they’ll go after Drew. Their primary need is starting pitching IMO.
That’s what I’m hoping for as well.
You have to wonder if Rizzo and the Nationals are planning to make a bid, despite the future contract issues of Desmond, Zimmermann, Strausburg and Harper. After all, the Nationals have one of the richest owners in baseball- and this would certainly be a big marquee.
I really see him going to the Mariners though. They could use a big Japanese name to bring back the international interests. It would certainly solve the issue of trading for David Price who would end up costing the same or more for them and there would be more return.
I think the MASN situation limits the Nats’ spending more than people account for. Yes Lerner is infinite rich but these rich guys don’t necessarily like to plow a lot of their own money into their teams if they don’t have to. Lerner may very well do it if he’s in love with Tanaka but I think we would have heard more rumblings about Nats interest by now.
If the Nats are spending smart money they’ll extend Desmond before another offseason sees salaries skyrocket some more. Would love to see Zimmermann get one, too. Strike while the iron is hot, Rizzo!
Can you imagine how many posts ‘after’ he signs with a team, when all these fans teams that are posting doesn’t land Tanaka?! Oh my….
All of a sudden it will go from ‘projected rotations’ for their team….to slamming Tanaka’s unproven play in MLB and wishing and hoping that he fails in MLB and blows out his arm after a huge overpay.
It’s going to be a circus on this board even ‘after’ he signs. lol
Well hopefully fans don’t actually wish him to get injured. Theres no doubt they will point out the fact that he’s unproven at ever turn though.
I Agree!
As a Rangers fan knowing the probability of signing Tanaka is slim to none, I just hope he signs somewhere other than the A.L. West! We’ll except for Houston. The best they could hope for is a Felix/mariners recreation of the past 9 years.
If I were in your situation I wouldn’t want him signing with Houston. Sure they’ll still be the bottom of that division this year but they have several talented players not too far from making an impact. They have a ton of salary flexibility. Might not be too far from them being the perennial winner of that division rather than the joke of the league.
Astros do have good prospects coming, but they are no where near competing with the Rangers, A’s, and Mariners.
Gonna laugh at all this speculation when Tanaka joins Darvish in Texas.
Pretty sure Texas is done spending after Choo
Already laughing that some people think Tanaka actually cares where Darvish is. The Rangers can sign him, they just have to offer the most money.
With that logic theres more chance of him joining with the Yankees because of Ichiro and Kuroda
Except Ichiro and Kuroda are about a year away from retirement.
You mean all Japanese people aren’t friends?
Aren’t you, in fact, speculating that he’ll sign with TX? If you’ve got some insider info, we’d all love to hear it.
How do you know that?
On sheer depth of pockets, you’d have to think the Yankees or Dodgers would have the best shot.
As much as I’d like to see the Angels try to sign him, every big signing from here on out is that much less flexibility in payroll to lock up Trout long-term.
Maybe Yankees but Dodgers will already have a higher salary then next year once arbitration is over.
Don’t rule out the Red Sox. They have deep pockets and could sign Tanaka and stay under 189 by trading Peavy and Dempster, both of whom are in the last year of their deals.
my prediction: blue jays offer 6 yrs 125 million regardless of their 5 year policy
It’s not too far fetched… I don’t think they Jays would go past 6/$110m
Jimenez, Santana and Garza will be winners after this sweepstake. Whoever lose out on the Tanaka bidding will overpay for these three pitchers. Smart move on their part.
Think they would have preferred he stay out. He’s the number 1 rated free agent pitcher so they all move down a slot. Not to mention just the increased supply of pitching he provides. Economics, more supply, lower price.
There’s always a demand for pitching though.
Simple economic theory. Yes there’s always demand for pitching just as theirs always a supply. When that supply increases the price decreases. Team’s don’t have to go all out on one guy as much because there’s another option int he market. If not this guy doesn’t hold up the entire pitching market. Most players like signing before Christmas something but right now all the best pitchers are still out there.
So one more good starting pitcher gets on the market and you think somehow the prices for the others will go …UP?
You don’t make any sense my friend.
Whoever gets Tanaka won’t be going after the other pitchers.
Simple economics.
Whoever loses go after the other three pitchers. Tanaka will set the market higher for those pitchers to get paid more.
So when does he get posted and when do we find out which team has won?
No team will win just off of posting. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s 30 teams that offer the 20 million post.
Exactly, Tanaka is going to be able to choose wherever he wants to pitch
Obviously there is lots of talk about where he will end up and we’ve seen a lot of Yankee and Dodger posts. The difference is that the Yankees would have him towards the top of the rotation while the Dodgers at the back end. If I were a Yankee fan I don’t think I would be too keen on the idea of relying on an unproven MLB starter at the front of the rotation In the AL, much less the AL East. It seems like this could go downhill quickly for Tanaka. Happy bidding and Merry Christmas!
What if all clubs offered the same amount or had a maximum they would be allowed to offer then let him choose where he wants to play.
In that case he’d likely choose a west coast team. But there is no limit and there’s a good chance the Cubs or Yankees offer enough to lure him away from the west coast.
Teams with the need, the finances and the urgency to win now: Yankees, Mariners, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Nationals. Roughly in that order of likelihood too.
He’s 25. The bidding team doesn’t have to prepared to win now. He’s still yet to enter his prime years. The Cubs have about 50 million off of their payroll from last year and have been quoted as saying there was a market for young players. They are also week at pitching depth as far as prospects. He fits into their picture perfectly.
The cubs will be in on him for sure, but I don’t see them at the final bidding table. A rebuilding team just doesn’t have the same motivation to spend this kind of dough and take this kind of risk as teams that need to win now.
A 25 year old isn’t a win now proposition. His contract will likely be a 6-8 year deal. He’s not expected to hit his prime for another couple of years. All of the major 4 Cubs prospects will at least have earned a shot by then. They will need pitching to complement all the hitting prospects we have. No way the Cubs aren’t up there with the best of the bids if not the best bid.
If it were any other pitcher on the market I’d agree, they are all win now, either exiting their prime years or already past it. I don’t know if you know what win now means if you think he is a win now pitcher.
Imagine him on the Rays with a non traded Price in the rotation
Which team will win the Tanaka sweepstakes? ?? All the names are in the hat
Yankees please!
Maybe the Cubs so Samardzja can be shipped to the Phillies in a three team trade also involving the Mariners.
After Tanaka signing, Cubs acquire James Paxton, Tyler Pike, Justin Smoak (to back up Rizzo/pinch hit for pitchers) or Stefan Romero if the Cubs need a third baseman, and Gabriel Guerrero.
Phillies can acquire Jeff Samardzja, Patrick Kivelhan or a catcher besides Zunino & Hicks, and cash from the Cubs.
Mariners acquire Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, and either Dominic Brown or Marlon Byrd.
That may work out for those three teams in a trade on top of Tanaka signing w/ the. Cubs. Merry Christmas Jonathan and others here.
the angels are gonna be a team to watch cause of this posting im just their gonna try and go all in on tanaka
Why specifically Angels? Lots of other teams have great incentives to go “all in ” on Tanaka.
I think Angels are a likely candidate, but others are even more likely. I’m guessing that Yankees, Cubs and Mariners all we be betting quite a lot.
And why not Baltimore or Washington?
Baltimore has done close to nothing in this off season and have plenty of cash from their MASN network.
Give me one reason Angels are more likely than above mentioned team.
Because the Angels have The Will To Win…the Winter.
why because they need pitching more than anybody else and arte is known to break the piggy bank and sneak in a pay somebody… the angels have their chips all in with this payroll it makes perfect sense facing darvis and iwakuma in the al west no matter what the angels will sign tanaka or garza one or the other im sure arte will go over the luxury tax for somebody he can market well against the other al west rivals
of course the cubs won’t be out bid. the highest is 20mil.
What are your plans Jed?
What annual value are you going to offer Tanaka?
If Kaplan’s source didn’t mean they won’t be outbid on the total value of the contract, it’s a pointless statement.
I’ll preface this by saying I really have no clue where Tanaka will land. But Dodgers seems to make the most sense IMO. Big financial muscles, and could have potentially awesome front of the rotation with Tanaka possibly not even being their number 2 starter.
Hope the Angels got a shot. They need him badly!
So many teams will go after him, i think he’ll only end up with one of a couple of teams. Yanks, b/c they have the $$$ to offer and the biggest need for him, I’d say the Dodgers, but i don’t see them selling out what it’ll cost to keep him AND THEN sign Kershaw to what he’s going to get unless they’re plan is to have a $250-$300 million payroll in a couple of years. Angels are a definite wildcard, they’re in the same boat as the yankees, roster’s already expensive and he could be difference maker. Unless the Cubs outbid everyone i don’t see how he’ll go there. Rangers too in the same boat as Yanks and Angels. That’d be my prediction, Yankees, Rangers and Angels in that order.
My thoughts on most likely:
1. Yankees due to the ultra spend mode that has been engaged
2. Mariners due to their efforts, and his relationship/looking up to Iwakuma
3. Diamondbacks
My dark horse of a team that I havent seen mentioned personally? The Mets.
Really EVERY team should put in the bid, only responsible if sign him, at worst helps drive up the demand perception.
Merry Christmas.