Let's round up the day's rumblings on Masahiro Tanaka, who will have chosen his new club by this time next week:
- Both Chicago organizations are real contenders for Tanaka, Dan Martin and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post wrote yesterday. An industry source says that the Cubs and White Sox have serious interest in the Japanese ace. Seven teams met with Tanaka during his trip to the U.S., the pair notes, though the Sox are the only ones to have publicly acknowledged a face-to-face.
- Those meetings have not yet resulted in feedback, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). Teams had around an hour to pitch Tanaka, but have not heard back. "Nobody knows where they stand," says Sanchez.
- The Cubs have withheld cash thus far in order to keep a sufficient war chest to make a real run at Tanaka, says Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. But with a "debt-strung, skittish-to-spend ownership," in Wittenmyer's words, the club may not be a real player in the sweepstakes.
- The Dodgers are actively involved in talks with Tanaka, reports Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. This report confirms what many had suspected (and the front office had indicated): the club will not be precluded from another massive investment after extending Clayton Kershaw. As Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com further reports, GM Ned Colletti has had discussions with Tanaka's reps at Excel Sports Management all week long. "We're still, first and foremost, concerned with the quality of the team we can put together, and adding it up comes second," said president Stan Kasten. "This is a long-term strategy of ours. After five or six or seven years, it will make a lot more sense than it does to people looking at today's snapshot."
- For his part, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick is not so sure that Los Angeles will go all out for Tanaka, though it is interested if he values the chance to play on the West Coast and is "willing to make his decision on factors other than total financial package." But with interest that has been only "lukewarm at best," says Gurnick, the Dodgers would probably not look to win a bidding war absent intervention from the ownership group. A Hanley Ramirez extension is, in Gurnick's estimation, a higher priority for the L.A. brass.
Anyone else just wish the guy would sign with a team already?
No, nobody else wishes this. Nobody else is tired of hearing about him and we wish this would go on for years instead of ending.
I agree
Yes. Their names are Matt, Ervin, Ubaldo and Bronson.
it will all be over in a week.
“But with a “debt-strung, skittish-to-spend ownership,” in Wittenmyer’s
words, the club may not be a real player in the sweepstakes.”
Which is why I’m now choosing not to believe any reports until he makes his decision.
Cool. Great. Wow.
White Sox baby! Get him!
Realistically, I don’t see it happening. But how about about Sale, Tanaka, and Quintana around their new young core? Doesn’t that sound awesome Sox fans? I am crossing my fingers here.
Right, would be so against how they usually deal with pitchers but the thought is too enticing. Would instantly make them better and another huge step closer to contending. .
Real good rotation. They would probably end up contending a year faster than the Cubs can.
Can’t wait till next week when this is all finally over and teams can go on with their offseason. I wish that the old posting system would have been in place for 1 more year because then we would already know where Tanaka would be going and other players and teams could move on.
Mariners are basically out. Jack Z was at a function today, and was asked about signing Tanaka. He said that given the other teams involved, it would be “difficult” for the M’s to be in the race. Too bad… Tanaka would’ve given Seattle a 1-2-3 in the rotation with Felix and Iwakuma that very few teams could match.
They can still trade for Price though…
If I had to guess, that probably won’t happen either. Rays really want Walker; Jack Z doesn’t want to give him up. If he could get Tampa to accept a package based on Paxton and Franklin, maybe they’ll get something done. But TB is under no pressure to deal Price now, and will hold out for the best deal possible.
Price also said he wouldn’t be interested in signing in Seattle, so that drops his value as far as the Ms are concerned.
Six years of Paxton and Franklin for 2 years of Price? One of those years the M’s won’t even sniff the postseason. Sounds fair.
That is the price for front of the rotation pitcher. You may not like it, and it often doesn’t make sense if a team is rebuilding, but Price is an instant game changer, and you won’t get him for giving up several years top prospects.
I’d rather the Mariners spend for Tanaka. Any Price deal costs at least as much cash to extend him, as well as TOP pitching prospects Walker, or Paxton just to get the deal started. It’s not worth it.
I really, really hope the M’s go as high as 100-125m on Tanaka, then extend Iwakuma.
Aw. The happy little clouds in my painting aren’t so happy anymore. But considering there hasn’t been any real indication yet as to who is the lead pony, I’ll still hold on to a sliver of hope. What a splash that would be!
Sorry, Ned Colletti, but that ideology is how people end up in debt, and even Magic Johnson has a finite amount of cash. There’s no doubt in my mind that Tanaka ends up somewhere outside of LA.
1. kasten is the one who made the comment about quality first, money second. 2. magic may personally have limited funds, but mark Walter, does not.
Magic owns a very small percent of the organization. He is just the face that gives the ownership group credibility.
According to the fangraphs page that MLBTR keeps linking to, their new TV deal is worth 340M a year. Plus there is the 25M a year shared contract. Now the Dodgers were running out a 100-120M payroll when their TV revenue was only 50M. So theoretically, they should be able to run out a team with a 350M payroll and pay a luxury tax of 80M. Tanaka would only put them around 250M. So no, it is not how people end up in debt.
First of all, I understand that Magic isn’t the only one pouring money into this team, but because he is the “face” of this team he is the one I named. But the point is the same. Money is finite. Even for the Dodgers. I get that they have millions more to spend and will be the richest team in baseball for a long time. However, if they continue spending like they have, then yes, eventually they will run out of money. I know a deal with Tanaka won’t put them there, but the attitude that “we’ll worry about getting the best guys and then worry about the cost later” WILL end poorly. That’s simply poor financial sense. All I was saying was in my opinion the Dodgers won’t get Tanaka, and who cares because they don’t need him anyway.
Cubs had a face to face with Tanaka!
I’m pretty sure they weren’t the only ones?
The article said no one has come out publicly and last time I checked cubs and white sox came out publicly!
Too quiet on the Seattle and NY front making me think something might be there. Boston too, can’t rule them out.
Dodgers still have to be the favorite since they don’t have to beat anyone elses offer to get Tanaka. I suspect they are Tanakas first choice. Cubs and Mariners would have to blow every else away, Boston too, although perhaps to a lesser extent since playing on a World Series championship team would be good for his Japanese endorsements.
He will choose the Yankees. I’ve never been more sure than I am now.
about this situation, i mean.
Based on what?
The Yankees fully recognize that they need to sign Tanaka for the offseason to be a success and to have a chance in 2014. They have more resources than any team and they may not hesitate to use them.
I don’t think they’re going to outbid anyone by *that* much, but I bet you they’re willing to offer something like an opt out clause and the kind of environment Tanaka loves to be in. New York is the capital of the world, in a lot of ways, and so Tanaka would be playing on perhaps baseball’s largest stage.
Not to mention that reports out of LA indicate he probably won’t play there. Cubs probably don’t have the cash, nor would he want to live in Chicago. Seattle’s a longshot–he doesn’t want to play there.
A lot of it is based on intuition given the reports and the Yankees in the past. The Yankees, when they’re quiet, they’re doing things well. They’re pleased. When they start talking to the media, then they’ve hit a wall or are falling out of contention. It’s generally how they operate and the clock is ticking now. If the Yanks didn’t feel comfortable, they’d be talking.
I never heard of him saying he didn’t want to play in La or Chicago, but I agree with most of this statement. Yankees are dangerous when quiet. Alot of their offseason signings so far have come out of the blue. The Steinbrenners also know that they would be losing a LOT of the fanbase if they let Tanaka slip away.
you didn’t hear it because he never said it. There were reports out of Japan a week ago that said as much, but reports this week have said that none of them could be confirmed. It’s all speculation. Tanaka and has his agent have asked teams not to discuss the negotiations, which is a more likely reason the Yankees haven’t spoken about him. His desire to have other teams keep quiet would be a curious request if he was, in fact, leaking stories about his preferences…
nor would he want to live in Chicago? That’s a bold statement that’s based on nothing. Facts aren’t friends. You can’t just imagine they exist and throw a tea party with them.
As I said, this is mostly based on intuition regarding reports we’ve all heard. Reporters say he wants to play in a big market with a large Japanese population. I’m not saying the Chicago stage is unappealing or anything, but rather that when choosing from NYY, LAD, or CHC/CHW, he’s more likely to want to go big market. Plus we’ve heard several reports that Chicago’s interest may not be so serious as to challenge the big market clubs. That’s not even mentioning that he wants to live in a place where his wife would have career possibilities. I think Chicago would offer a lot, but New York would offer more.
Chicago is big market
Don’t tell anyone in New York that. There’s basically New York – and every other market is a small market.
Well out of the big markets, New York is really in a league of its own. New York has 6 million more population than Chi-Town. Chicago teams really do need to start spending like a big market though! I miss watching their team play meaningful games, the cubbies that is.
What’s the point in spending like a big market? If they were a player away, then signing a 30-year old Ellsbury or a 31-year old Choo might make sense. But if you figure that those players will start breaking down in 2-3 years, there’s a really small window to maximize the value of that contract. It doesn’t make sense to go into that contract essentially knowing that you’re wasting the first year of the deal while the prospects continue to grow.
Give it a year, and the Cubs should be right back in the mix for free agents.
Oh I mean after their roster becomes filled out with draft picks and international signings (Soler comes to mind). Spending money on Ellsbury and Choo would not have done much to make them competitive, but I would hope for them to spend when their prospects do cement themselves in the big leagues (if they actually do).
I’d be surprise if that doesn’t happen… Within a year, they should know more about Olt … plus Baez, Bryant and Alcantara will have likely cracked the big league roster.
I’m not really sold on Olt but hopefully he has a bounce back year for you guys. Him being healthy is key. Cubs do have a nice young crop of players that could become a solid core for the team for years to come. I’ll enjoy watching them progress with the Cubs.
It should be fun. Epstein has really infused the farm system with an abundance of high-end talent. It’s what he said he was going to do, and I’m excited that he’s done it. I’m curious to see how many of these guys pan out, but what’s exciting is that there’s no team in baseball that can match the Cubs power hitters in the minors..
As for Olt, we’ll see. If he doesn’t pan out, then so be it. Baez might shift have to shift to 3B to accommodate Castro at SS and Alcantara at 2B. Bryant might stick at 3B. And if all else fails, Villanueva is a pretty solid prospect, too… They have contingencies at 3B if Olt flames out.
In all honesty I hope they all pan out for the Cubs since I want to see them succeed. They are my favorite NL team other than the Rockies (I have a weird love for CarGo and Tulo). Seeing young players develop for your team is an exciting experience! Enjoy it.
I’m oddly with you on the Rockies thing. I’ve been a huge Tulo fan since I worked in the Rockies minor league system…
Wow really? That is pretty cool and sounds like quite the experience, I bet you loved it. I unfortunately did a minor internship in highschool for the Pawtucket Red Sox and had to endure the wrath of Boston fans when I told them I was a Yankees fan! At least it looked good in an application.
It will be interesting because Bryant is also gonna be in the mix for playing 3B as well
the Cubs took in about half the revenue that the Yankees did last year….
Yankees have added catcher Brian McCann, outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran, and infielder Kelly Johnson, and they re-signed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. That is $286 million in new player commitments — not counting the deals for Kuroda, who got a $1 million raise from last season, or Brendan Ryan and with all that they’re payroll projects to be $15 LESS than last year at this point.
the Cubs may be able to compete for free agents on occasion, perhaps one per year, but they simply don’t have the resources to get into a bidding war.
No. The Cubs can’t compete in multiple bidding wars at once with the Yankees. But they can certainly afford to win a singular bidding war with the Yankees. The Cubs could have given McCann $120 million and blown the Yankees out the water for his services – they could’ve offered Ellsbury $160 million and blown the Yankees out the water for his services. Could they have done both? No. But if they seriously target a player, they have the ability to buy him.
…as is the case with any player, there are certain limits every team will go to in order to sign that player. They might be able to exceed that limit a bit, if necessary, but for the most part, once that limit is reached, the team moves on from that free agent. It’s not always a matter of what a team can afford, but how much they’re willing to give …
It’s not always a matter of what a team can afford, but how much they’re willing to give …
true, but in a bidding war, sometimes a team would be willing to make the next bid, but they don’t have the resources.
the Cubs and Yankees might both have been willing to pay Kershaw more than the $30M that the Dodgers did, but the Cubs may not have the resources to do it.
Unless you think Tanaka is going to be offered $30 million per year, then it’s a moot point. The Cubs have a $55 million payroll – it’ll probably go up to about $75 million after arbitration hearings. With no legitimate contracts coming up on the roster – and a team being built around cheap, minor league talent – the Cubs, I assure you, can afford to give Tanaa $25 million (which, mind you, is more than he’s likely going to get.)
fersure, they can compete for Tanaka by going to $25M …. will they go 12 years?
Yea… they’ll go 12 years. It’ll be a 12-year, $300 million contract. Because that sounds logical….
…I wish there was a way to show you my eyes rolling.
This is one of the few times I’ll ever say something like this: I TOLD YOU SO. =) The price was outrageous, though…
What was the Cubs offer?
Exactly. There are big markets and then there’s THE big market.
Maybe its because New York is the biggest city in America?
Ahhh. So New York is the biggest city in America – so by extension, every other city is small. Thanks for the lesson. I learned a lot.
Do you just make sarcastic comments or is there substance, too?
And LA would offer more than both … but you write them off. You also don’t even acknowledge the Giants even though it has the largest Japanese population of any mainland state.
Most American cities will have similar Japanese populations if you’re comparing them to a Japanese population in Japan…
One reason why I am worried about not getting Tanaka is that one official did start to speak out about how Tanaka may not be able to translate into the big leagues. Usually that type of talk happens when the Yankees are out of contention for a player.
I don’t think any interested team has been eliminated from contention … so there’s no reason for the Yankees to believe they’re out of the running…
you should know better than to believe comments that are unattributed and come out when teams are jockeying for players.
That worried me a bit too, but I actually think that it was more of asign of dissent in the organization than it was a sign of missing out. It means not everyone is convinced. but if Cash, Levine, or Hal are convinced, then the idea gets much stronger legs. He could end up in LA, but I am the most confident I’ve been so far in NY as a landing spot. The Dodgers have already said they’re going to be outbid (also saying a few days earlier that they wouldn’t be outbid). Who knows what’s happening, but I like the overall silence on the yankees side.
the offseason isn’t going to be a success, even if they sign Tanaka, unless they can acquire a first-rate infielder
Wittenmeyer can’t be trusted as a source. While much of the Chicago media has had a love affair with Theo Epstein since his arrival, Wittenmeyer has chosen to stand out by going the opposite route. He has bashed every single decision the front office has made for three off-seasons now – he even bashed the Cubs renovation plans. Some have been fair criticisms, but others have clearly been driven by an agenda to stand out from the crowd and make a name for himself. That said, there’s no little chance the Cubs don’t have the necessary funds. Anyone with a brain could see this bidding war becoming a $140 million investment (posting fee included), and so the Cubs likely wouldn’t be talking like they had the money to make that investment if they didn’t. Of course, the possibility exists that the Dodgers could blow everyone out the water and give him $175 million, but I don’t see them investing heavier in a Japanese import than they did in a former Cy Young winner (Greinke.) Could be wrong, though…
They cubs could also be doing this for the publicity. Just to show their fan base that they are “trying”
The Cubs have actually been very upfront about their money situation. They’ve discussed the difficulty in building this team with a bunch of high-priced free agents – that they can’t incur the costs right now until they get a new TV deal and the renovations to the park are made. I get the impression that they’d continue with that message if they felt they didn’t have the money needed to acquire Tanaka.
ANY team could be doing this for the publicity.
This is the Yankees worst nightmare, a team that may have more money than them! It all depends how bad the Dodgers want him at this point.
LOL The Dodgers don’t have more money than the Yankees! They’re just willing, this year, to spend it. For some reason. The Yanks have far more money.
Didn’t know the Yankees were owned by a multi-billion, multinational corporation worth over $190 billion. Mark Walter’s alone is worth $1.5 billion. So if you want to say that team revenue for the Yankees over the Dodgers, I’ll accept that, until the numbers come out after this season with the YES network and Sportsnet LA going against each other.
If the Yankees get under 189 this year, they will go back to being themselves next offseason.
the Yankees won’t get under $189. and they’re quite willing to go well over it for Tanaka
The Dodgers may be willing to spend more this offseason but the Yankees have more cash than any other team in the league.
Not anymore
Source? New Yorks team revenue last season was 570 million while the Dodgers revenue was at 450 million.
Just accept it, Yankees are second now.
Says who? You?
I don’t usually accept nonsense.
Says everyone except Yankee fans.
But when you do, make it a Dos Equis!
I prefer IPA’s!
Dodgers just signed biggest TV contract in MLB history, higher attendance last yr, and Guggenheim had a larger annual income than the Steinies.Sorry East Coasters, your financial dominance is over. 😛
Even with the higher attendance the Dodgers would have come in second to the Yankees revenue in the year prior before last season. They generated about 470 million that year and the Yankees still grew more than the Dodgers last year despite the new tv deal and attendance spike, as well as an attendance DROP for the Yankees. 120 million more revenue than the Dodgers in a down year.
You’re just not getting it. The baseball revenue is just a small part of the Guggenheim Groups income streams. Why do you think they bid more for a team than any have before. We’ll talk in a week.
The Steinbrenners and the 35 other minority owners of the NY Yankees have many other streams of wealth as well. Everything you just said is just speculation and your opinion, I prefer numbers.
Maybe you’re right. Guggenheim has 190 bil at their disposal, maybe the Yanks have more. The Daily News quoted an agent saying the Dodgers are richer. Hard to swallow after so many decades I guess. We shall see next week.
It doesn’t really matter outside the teams actual revenue. Teams want to be profitable, they don’t want to spend money earned from other enterprises.
It’s not a tough swallow since he is right.
Live, that 470M is under the Dodgers old TV contract. The new contract doesn’t start until next year. Old contract was 50M a year, new contract is between 280 and 340 depending on sources. So add at least 230M per year to dodger revenue next year.
The ownership group of the Dodgers (Guggenheim Partners) are worth 190 billion dollars. The Steinbrenner family’s worth doesn’t come close to that. Plus the Dodgers just got probably the biggest TV contract in american sports history that kicks in this year.
I’m just guessing, but at this point, you have to figure Casey Close knows the Dodgers pretty much are willing to pay the highest amount for players right now.
Greinke got the fat deal from the Dodgers. Largest for a right-handed free agent starter ever.
Kershaw just got the largest deal for a starter ever.
So I’m guessing that Tanaka’s highest bid may also be coming from the Dodgers.
That would probably explain why Colleti and Close are talking so frequently. They are likely working towards a deal and Colleti is checking in on Close to see if anyone is beating the Dodgers’ offer.
What makes you think that other teams aren’t frequently talking to Close as well?
That could be true, especially considering how secretive the process has been.
I just inferred from Colleti’s comments about talking to Close every day that the Dodgers are heavily in the mix and Colleti may be seeing if anyone has beaten their bid.
IMO, Tanaka is going to the highest bidder so I think its whoever bids the most. I doubt he takes less money to go to L.A. or N.Y..
So I was figuring Dodgers may have highest (or one of the highest) bids and Colleti is checking with Close to see if things have changed.
When asked if the Jays would be on the phone at the 11th hour for Tanaka, Anthopoulos said “I don’t know. We’ll see.” Other interesting tidbits from his radio interview were that they had reports on him touching 98mph at the end of his season; also mentioned Kuroda and Iwakuma as comparable – a little odd given the velocity reports, but doesn’t seem crazy to think the production will be similar. Japanese baseball also started using juiced baseballs last year, for those trying to compare Tanaka to other Japanese pitchers’ results in Japan. Seems like the Jays have really done their homework on the guy.
I’m wondering if, after reaching the two-year deals with both Zimmermann and Desmond, if the Nationals might be readying for an out-of-the-blue strike. The Lerners have plenty of money, and signing Tanaka would substantially boost the Nats’ profile in Japan.
Yankees should offer 7 years and either 140 or 150 million and just get it over with already.
Seattle Mariners could sign Masahiro Tanaka next week….
Breaking News: In an attempt to milk this process longer Masahiro Tanaka has decided that he cannot make an informed decision without knowing the teams intimately in game situations. To remedy this he has decided he will make one start for each of the 30 teams and then revisit his decision in mid-September.