It's about time someone did something about this free agent market. Don't get me wrong, Bobby Abreu heading back to the Phillies this spring will be great and all, but it's about time the market did something productive, and it's not all that surprising that the Yankees were the team to do it.
In the most anticipated signing of the offseason thus far, the New York Yankees signed Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka to a 7 year $155 million dollar monster contract earlier today. widely considered a top 3 suitor of Tanaka, the Yankees had to commit a huge chunk of money to secure themselves yet another strong free agent signing, but of all their signings, this deal with Tanaka could be the most valuable. Tanaka is only 25 years old, and can give the Yankees what some of their other signings can't, him prime years.
Tanaka spent the past 7 years in Japan pitching for the Rakuten Golden Eagles and has been incredibly dominant to say the least. Just last year he went 24-0 with and ERA under 2. Yes, the talent in Japan is on a different level then in the MLB, but Tanaka's numbers are so good that they cant be overlooked either.
As far as looking into how his game will translate into the MLB, Tanaka has the raw stuff to be a successful pitcher in the majors, but with the amount of money that the Yankees committed to him, he needs to be an ace for them. I'm not sure he is capable of that, at least not yet. His strike out totals werent all that high in Japan, and they certainly won't increase after his transition into the MLB, and as many pitchers have found out in the past, even if you have great stuff, if you can't strike people out in the bigs, it is hard to be a consistently great pitcher.
Even if Tanaka is just average in his first year in New York, this signing represents a much needed upgrade in the Yankees rotation to help make up for the loss of Andy Pettite. In my view, if the Yankees can make one more major pitching signing, and stay mostly healthy all year, they will be looking towards the playoffs once again.
With over $400 million committed to free agents this winter, I think it's safe to say, the Yankees are still here, spending the same as they always have. No spending cap will stop that, and I'm sure that's how most Yankees fans want to keep it.
In the most anticipated signing of the offseason thus far, the New York Yankees signed Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka to a 7 year $155 million dollar monster contract earlier today. widely considered a top 3 suitor of Tanaka, the Yankees had to commit a huge chunk of money to secure themselves yet another strong free agent signing, but of all their signings, this deal with Tanaka could be the most valuable. Tanaka is only 25 years old, and can give the Yankees what some of their other signings can't, him prime years.
Tanaka spent the past 7 years in Japan pitching for the Rakuten Golden Eagles and has been incredibly dominant to say the least. Just last year he went 24-0 with and ERA under 2. Yes, the talent in Japan is on a different level then in the MLB, but Tanaka's numbers are so good that they cant be overlooked either.
As far as looking into how his game will translate into the MLB, Tanaka has the raw stuff to be a successful pitcher in the majors, but with the amount of money that the Yankees committed to him, he needs to be an ace for them. I'm not sure he is capable of that, at least not yet. His strike out totals werent all that high in Japan, and they certainly won't increase after his transition into the MLB, and as many pitchers have found out in the past, even if you have great stuff, if you can't strike people out in the bigs, it is hard to be a consistently great pitcher.
Even if Tanaka is just average in his first year in New York, this signing represents a much needed upgrade in the Yankees rotation to help make up for the loss of Andy Pettite. In my view, if the Yankees can make one more major pitching signing, and stay mostly healthy all year, they will be looking towards the playoffs once again.
With over $400 million committed to free agents this winter, I think it's safe to say, the Yankees are still here, spending the same as they always have. No spending cap will stop that, and I'm sure that's how most Yankees fans want to keep it.