Masahiro Unlikely To Return To Yankees
4 years agoThe New York Yankees and free-agent starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka remain in contact, but there's a good chance that he'll be pitching elsewhere in 2021 and beyond. There is strong interest from teams in Japan and the chance to earn a bigger deal in his native country. New York's one-year, $11 million deal with Corey Kluber also makes it unlikely that Tanaka will return to the Bronx. The Yankees are also finalizing a six-year, $90 million deal with second baseman DJ LeMahieu. The two deals will give the Yanks an estimated competitive balance tax figure of around $207 million, just shy of the first threshold of $210 million. Tanaka had a decent 3.56 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with a 22.3 percent strikeout rate and 4.1 percent walk rate in 48 innings in 2020. The Japanese righty is usually a pretty reliable fantasy starter, but he may be unavailable to fantasy managers if he heads overseas.
Source: MLB Network - Jon Heyman
Source: MLB Network - Jon Heyman