The New York Yankees were left out of the postseason for the first time since 2007 this past year, and according to a source familiar with the Yanks' front office, they are in hot pursuit of Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka so that they return to the postseason quickly.
The source said the Yankees "will be heavily involved with Tanaka, very aggressive and at the top of the market, but won't get reckless and stupid." That will surely include a $20 million bid for the rights to even negotiate with him, a figure that would be significantly higher if the rules hadn't been changed this season. The posting fee for Yu Darvish, who came over to the United States two years ago was $51.7 million, and Tanaka is coming off a better year.
The 25-year-old righty was 24-0 for the Rakuten Golden Eagles, with a 1.27 ERA and 183 strikeouts against 32 walks. Those numbers surpass Darvish's best work in Japan, and he's become a true ace in just two seasons with the Texas Rangers.
Tanaka seems to be a perfect fit for the Yankees. They've successfully employed some of Japan's biggest stars, including Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki, and even Hideki Irabu before the bottom fell out. Also, CC Sabathia had the worst season of his career in 2012, and showed signs of his heavy workload taking its toll on his body.
The Yankees lack a true ace on the staff, and Tanaka represents a potentially steep upgrade. Still, the Yankees have made it known they want to be under $189 million for their payroll so they can sneak under the luxury tax, so a Tanaka deal will need to be at least on the borders of realism.
"There's still a lot of risk with Tanaka," the source said. "He's never pitched in the major leagues, he's thrown an enormous amount of pitches for a guy who's 25, and the ball is different in Japan. This isn't another Clayton Kershaw here, but there is a chance he can be special."
The Yankees will have to fend off the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs for Tanaka's services, and softer rumors of interest from the Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks have been bandied about.
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