Yankees Sign Masahiro Tanaka to Seven-Year Deal
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Major League Baseball(NEW YORK) — The New York Yankees proved once again just why they’re one of the most powerful teams in all of professional sports. They’ve agreed on a seven-year, $155 million contract with Japanese starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.
Tanaka’s deal is the fifth-highest for a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball history behind Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, and C.C. Sabathia.
The 25-year-old Tanaka has been one of the best pitchers in Japan recently. In 2013, he went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA for the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Major League scouts project Tanaka to be a front-line starter.
With Tanaka in the fold, the Yankees starting rotation all of the sudden becomes formidable. Tanaka will join C.C. Sabathia, Ivan Nova, and Hiroki Kuroda.
This offseason, the Yankees have spent nearly half a billion dollars on free agents Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, and Tanaka.
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