Masahiro Tanaka must make a decision by Friday as to where he will sign to begin his Major League Baseball career. According to reports, five teams have made offers to the Japanese right-hander-the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs.
Nikkan Sports, a Japanese sports news outlet is reporting that most of the offers coming in for Tanaka are exceeding six years and $100 million. The Yankees are considered the frontrunner for his services, especially since they'll have suspended third baseman Alex Rodriguez's $25 million off the books for the 2014 campaign.
They lost free agent second baseman Robinson Cano to the Seattle Mariners early in the offseason, opting to replace him with a slew of free agents including outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran, as well as catcher Brian McCann. Their pitching is still an issue though, with CC Sabathia coming off his worst season in pinstripes, Hiroki Kuroda aging, and Ivan Nova still unproven.
While all five teams involved in the bidding have been associated with Tanaka for some time, the Dodgers loom largest as a threat to the Yanks. Recently, they seem to have assumed New York's throne atop the money pit, and are in the running despite employing Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke already.
"We're still, first and foremost, concerned with the quality of the team we can put together, and adding it up comes second," Dodgers president Stan Kasten said. Los Angeles recently re-signed Kershaw to a long-term deal for seven years and a whopping $215 million. This deal will pay Kershaw no less than $30 million in any season until 2020, and included a player opt-out clause after 2018.
The Cubs are reportedly a serious candidate for Tanka as well, despite having far less of a winning track record recently. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chi-town said the Cubs pitchmen "made Tanaka a real offer to be their ace and grow with their other talented young players."
In Wrigley Field, Tanaka would bolster a very young core that includes shortstop Starlin Castro, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija.
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