Masahiro Tanaka Unlikely To Return To Bronx?
4 years agoWith the New York Yankees signing right-hander Corey Kluber to a one-year, $11 million deal on Friday, it could shut the door on the team re-signing starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. Luis Severino (elbow) is due back from Tommy John surgery in 2021 at some point, Domingo German will return from a suspension and the club has young arms in Deivi Garcia, Michael King and Clarke Schmidt ready for more opportunities. Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery and Kluber should fill the top three rotation spots. The Yankees are also re-signing second baseman DJ LeMahieu, with his and Kluber's contracts putting the Yanks around $10 million away from the first competitive balance tax threshold of $210 million. If Tanaka's market outside of New York isn't very robust, there's a chance that he could return to Japan. He had a decent 3.56 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with a 22.3 percent strikeout rate and a 4.1 percent walk rate in 48 innings in 2020.
Source: MLB.com
Source: MLB.com