The MLB free agent class just got a new shot in the arm with Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, as he was posted by his team the Rakuten Eagles after speculation that he may not be placed on the market and now teams like the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers could be top options to go after him.
Tanaka comes in after going 24-0 last season in Japan with a 1.27 ERA and he is considered to be the best Japanese pitcher since Yu Darvish and the recent success of those players, with Darvish and Hisashi Iwakuma being voted as Cy Young finalists, means Tanaka will be in demand. The Yankees were looked at as a top spot for him to go before the new posting system was implemented, as they could bid higher than other teams to get the chance to sign him, but according to ESPN.com, the new posting system limits bids to $20 million and that means the Yankees and other teams could be on the same level.
The Yankees are one of the teams that will be going after Tanaka hard and according to ESPN.com, the posting date for Tanaka will start up Thursday and the closing for the 30-day negotiating window with the Japanese pitcher will last until near the end of January and he now is one of the top pitchers on the market with Matt Garza and Ubaldo Jimenez. Tanaka made $4 million with his team last season and the club was possibly going to give him a huge salary if he stayed next season, but they went along with his wishes and posted him and now he has a chance to play in the United States.
There is a chance that Tanaka could fail to agree with one of the teams going after him, but with clubs like the Yankees and Red Sox going after him, chances are he will be able to find a deal. Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka were the last two Japanese players to sign with massive deals and with the new posting fee, Tanaka will not allow his original team to reap the benefits, as each of those players paid over $50 million to negotiate, but he still likely will cash in with a big deal.
