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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Unless you were really out of reach for the Christmas holiday, you know by now that Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has in fact been posted by the Rakuten Eagles so that he can get out of his contract with them and sign with a MLB team to pitch in the US in 2014.

Now the great debate on where Tanaka and his agent Casey Close will choose to sign.

And really there are 31 choices because the new posting agreement between MLB and the Japanese league limits the posting fee – the money given to the Eagles as compensation – to $20 million when it used to be an auction where the right would go to the highest bidding team. If you remember just a few years ago when Yu Darvish was posted, the Texas Rangers won that right with a bid of $51.7 million (and there were reportedly other clubs near the $50 million mark).

So how many teams are interested in signing Tanaka? Really for just the $20 M every single MLB club should call Close and ask to negotiate. All 30 clubs should be willing to pay $20 million, but let’s take a quick look at:

  1. Which teams NEED Tanaka
  2. Which teams WANT Tanaka, and
  3. Which team(s) will actually pay enough to sign Tanaka

You could argue that every team needs a starting pitcher who is potentially as good as Darvish. Remember that he is not an older pitcher. Tanaka is just 25 years old like Darvish, so offering him a six or seven year contract has a very reasonable expectation of full value throughout the life of the contract.

Here is my short list of teams that need to sign Tanaka:

Kansas City Royals – definitely took a step up last year but their starting rotation is still not championship caliber and they have to replace Ervin Santana. Signing Tanaka would enable the Royals to go toe to toe with the Detroit Tigers.

Cleveland Indians – they need to replace Ubaldo Jimenez to compete against the Tigers but the Indians spent a lot of money last year and didn’t get the years they hoped for from Bourn and Swisher. Will they do it again?

The Pittsburgh Pirates finally had a good season and their fans responded and while they have some excellent prospects on the way they should sign Tanaka and make sure they get back to the playoffs in 2014.

The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays both have poor rotations that will not compete for the AL East crown but Tanaka would go a long way towards putting them in shouting distance.

And again, while all 30 teams want Tanaka, we don’t know who REALLY wants him – here are a few teams I think might step up to battle you know who:

Seattle Mariners – just signing Robinson Cano isn’t enough to really compete with the Rangers, Angels and Athletics. Reuniting Tanaka with former Eagles teammate Hisashi Iwakuma might be. With Felix Hernandez, Iwakuma and Tanaka, they certainly would have the best 1-2-3 SP in the division.

Chicago Cubs – no their offense is not quite ready, but Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler and Albert Amora will make their MLB debuts in 2014 or 2015 and more importantly, Theo Epstein and the club owners need to ignite their fan base with a better view of what is to come and signing Tanaka would certainly do that.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – will Arte Moreno spend another 100 million plus dollars on a contract this year? Doubtful from a financial standpoint, but the Angels' rotation is hurting and what could be better for Moreno and the Halos than seeing Tanaka fans drive down from Los Angeles to Anaheim? One additional thought that really makes this idea sing – can you imagine any television set in Japan off on the new national holiday when Tanaka is starting for the Angels against Darvish for the Rangers?  I can’t either.

Okay, let’s go to the last group.

Right now, there is only one sure team at the table. Not only do the New York Yankees need help with their starting pitching, but they have the purse to beat any other bids for Tanaka. Under the tax threshold be damned. They are the YANKEES.

Some of you wondered why I said 31 choices.

There is only one person who gets to choose from all the suitors – Tanaka (and wife, Japanese idol and pop recording star Mai Satoda) can actually choose where they want to live/pitch for the next six or seven years. That has never been the case before for a star pitcher in Japan coming to play Major League Baseball in the United States. {jcomments on}