There is quite a history of Japanese baseball players in Major League Baseball. Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui are a few of the greats while newcomers like pitchers Koji Uehara and Yu Darvish are just beginning to make a name for themselves. In 2014, however, there will be a new sheriff in town, and he also hails from Japan. It will be Masahiro Tanaka.
After much uncertainty regarding Tanaka’s status as a free agent, Rakuten Golden Eagles’ president Yozo Tachibana has officially posted Tanaka. His signing period began at 8 a.m., Dec. 26, and will run through 5 p.m. on Jan. 24. During this period, all teams will be allowed to negotiate with Tanaka and his representatives. The team that eventually signs Tanaka will also have to pay the Golden Eagles $20 million as a posting fee. This number is much lower than in years past due to the new posting system agreed to by the MLB and Nippon Pro Baseball.
In 2012, the Texas Rangers paid almost $52 million for pitcher Yu Darvish’s negotiating rights and eventually came to terms with him on a six-year deal worth $56 million. With the posting fee now capped at $20 million, look for many more teams to be in the race to sign Tanaka.
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The 25-year old Tanaka has been missing bats in the Japan Pacific League for seven years, since he was 18. Tanaka’s numbers have been impressive every year, but over the past three seasons, he has reached a new level of ridiculousness. In 2011, while pitching for the Golden Eagles, Tanaka started 27 games and completed 14 of them. 14! By comparison, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright led the majors this season with five complete games in 34 starts. Tanaka’s mark of eight complete games in both 2012 and 2013 would have also led the MLB.
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Tanaka’s most impressive year may have been the most recent. In 2013, he went an astonishing 24-0 while posting an ERA of just 1.27. He is a true five-pitch pitcher but relies mostly on his above average splitter and a fastball that can reach 95 mph.
As far as comparisons go, Tanaka has been described as very similar to Darvish. Darvish’s posting fee and contract brought his total cost to over $100 million. Because Tanaka’s fee was capped at $20 million, it is plausible that his services could demand more than $60 million over five years or more. Tanaka is just 25 years old and has a track record of success at the professional level, albeit Japanese professional baseball. Teams in need of a pitcher should not hesitate to give this guy an impressive contract.
Ervin Santana, Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez and A.J. Burnett are some of the names that head this year’s class of free agent pitchers. All four of these pitchers are proven and reliable players, but Tanaka is a much more attractive option for many reasons, most important being his age. At just 25, Tanaka still has his best years ahead of him, and teams are more likely to give him a lucrative contract than a 30-year old Garza, for example.
It’s the holiday season and general managers throughout the league have to be thankful for the Christmas gift they received in the posting of Masahiro Tanaka. Now that it is official, Tanaka certainly jumps straight to the top of most organization’s wish lists. Contenders such as the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks have been rumored as possible destinations for Tanaka, as well as rebuilding teams like the Toronto Blue Jays and the Chicago Cubs.
Yu Darvish is a perfect example of a player from the Japanese professional league that came to the United States and immediately had success at the major league level. Last year, he led the American League in strikeouts and finished second in Cy Young award voting. According to many scouts, Tanaka is just as talented as Darvish. Darvish took the league by storm in 2012 and 2013, but look for Tanaka to be the next sensation in 2014.