The Diamondbacks consider Masahiro Tanaka to be their "No. 1 target" and are serious suitors for the Japanese ace, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports. Had Arizona not acquired Mark Trumbo, the Snakes were open to spending the $140MM that agent Scott Boras said it would've taken to sign Shin-Soo Choo, and Rosenthal notes that D'Backs management could instead invest that money (the $20MM posting fee and a $120MM contract) towards landing Tanaka. The D'Backs could have an extra source for information on Tanaka in the form of scout Rick Short, who played with Tanaka from 2007-09 on the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
You can click here for some Tanaka news from earlier today, and here are some more items from around the NL West…
- Also from Rosenthal's piece, Arizona could be more motivated to sign an ace like Tanaka in free agency since they found the Cubs' and Rays' respective asking prices for Jeff Samardzija and David Price to be too high, Rosenthal notes, not to mention the fact that Price will become more expensive in his final two arbitration-eligible seasons. The D'Backs rate Tanaka higher than other free agent arms like Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez or Ervin Santana.
- Hanley Ramirez and the Dodgers have reportedly been discussing an extension this offseason and ESPN Los Angeles' Mark Saxon looks at some of the factors involved in giving Ramirez a major new deal.
- In a Giants-related mailbag, MLB.com's Chris Haft argues that the Giants should've given Brett Pill more time to prove himself rather than give those at-bats to Jeff Francoeur last summer. Pill's rights were recently sold to the KIA Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization and his deal with the club was just finalized today. As Haft writes, "the sense here is that the Giants jettisoned Pill without fully discovering what they had in him."
- Buster Posey is just one season into his multiyear extension with the Giants and he's still owed $157MM over the next eight seasons. While it's far too early to place a verdict on this contract, Grant Brisbee of the McCovey Chronicles argues that the Giants may have saved money by locking Posey up last March as opposed to this offseason, as San Francisco might've had to offer their star catcher a nine- or even a ten-year deal in the $200MM threshold.
As a huge dbacks fan im hoping for tanaka .its risky cause he could be a bust.its tough cause its not like the yanks or dodgers if he is a bust they just buy someone else. But as a dback if he fails will never buy someone big for ten more years.i rather price but bradley is not an option.he needs to stay in arizona.hes gonna be special. Maybe a owings shipley cahill barret would work.but i doubt it.every other pitcher out there is risky.we had prospects to get anyone.but towers gave way to many away.
Period.
Hello period.
And when Carl Pavano failed, who did the Yankees buy to replace him?
They threw cheap options into the back of their rotation
Tough to see the Dbacks landing Price without Bradley involved.
I agree if it was price last year before being a free agent maybe.however its wishful thinking as a dbacks fan
Not sure I’m following, but Price has two years until he’s a free agent.
I think he means if the Rays were trading Price last year when he had 3 years of control, he would have included Bradley in a trade for Price.
He’s saying if Price only had one year left on his contract, he likely wouldn’t cost losing Bradley in the trade.
Pill will be 30 next year, it’s hard to argue a team doesn’t have a good idea of what a player is by the time they are 30.
The Giants’ repeated refusal to give their prospects solid and continued MLB playing time is the problem. Maybe most teams would know exactly what they’re working with, but it’s been rare to see a young guy (non-star prospect level) get the chance to prove himself fully in SF during the last decade.
This is true. You have to immediately start killing the ball or you’re back to the bench (happened to Belt repeatedly, and even Posey his first year). But there wasn’t much in Pill’s track record to suggest he’d ever be more than a fringe MLBer.
Completely agree. I don’t think Pill would have earned a starting spot anyway, but he deserved a chance to stick regardless.
Belt is a perfect example. Huge struggles, kept getting benched, and then when they decided to let him sink or swim, he actually turned into a decent hitter. If you bench a guy when he’s not hitting, he’s not going to magically figure something out in the cage.
Nate Schierholtz as well
Tanaka is to risky, I’m scared that he will hurt his arm and require surgery because if how much he pitches. I think it might be good if possible to sign Bronson Arroyo if he doesn’t require a forfeit of a 1st round draft pick.
I don’t think the dbacks should get anyone else on the market.. Next year will have so many great pitchers and if they their starters stay healthy, that can have a very good starting rotation. Patrick Corbin had a 2.40 era up until mid-late august, Miley will have another low-mid 3 era and they still have Delgado who is only 22, Cahill who has potential to have about a 3 era, McCarthy can have about a 4 era, and they also have Archie Bradley who in my eyes could be the next verlander. He is a hard thrower in the high 90’s, he had the best curveball in the minors and a developing change up… So if the diamondbacks do get somebody I do not think it should be this year.
I also think Alfredo marte will be very good and Zeek Spruill will be very good also.
If a shortstop were to be traded it should be gregorious, I can possibly see Chris owings hitting close to .300 with 10 home runs.
And if they don’t spend money this offseason then they still will have $18 mm coming off of payroll with McCarthy and Putz.
Anyone else have different opinions?
I don’t think Towers shares your high level of optimism.
not enough grittttt
I wonder who the “front runner” is to land this “horse” to log innings down the “stretch.”
Arizona has zero chance of landing Tanaka if NY, LA, CHI, or BOS has any REAL interest. There is no way Tanaka goes to a mediocre team in the desert if he has a chance to be on a contender and or in a big market. MLB free agents don’t even want to go to Arizona, what makes anyone think they can lure international ones either? Just look to Carlos Beltran as the latest example.
Beltran didnt go cause hes old and wants a shot at a title.arizona has a shot probably in 2 years.but they will be a good team next year.
I’ll grant you that line of rationale for Beltran going to the Yankees, but what about free agents in general going to Ari? Eric Chavez, Willie Bloomquist, Cody Ross… not exactly marquee guys that signed FA deals with Arizona in the last couple of years. They haven’t signed a notable free agent since I can’t remember when. So why is anything going to be different now with Tanaka?
AZ has only recently paid off all that deferred money and foolishness (Eric Byrnes) on the books. Beyond the self-imposed and self-inflicted budget limits, why is it a place free agents ignore? At least the reason Seattle could never sign a free agent was blamed on its relative remoteness. What Arizona’s inherent minus for free agents?
Like @ConstantinusMagnus:disqus mentioned, we recently got rid of a lot of deferred money from previous financial toils. We haven’t really been in hot pursuit of these “marquee” players. We have mostly focused on building the team through prospect acquisition in the trade market. It wasn’t really until last season that we opened the checkbook (Ross, McCarthy, Prado extension), not pursuing “marquee” players, but contributors. As we saw with Upton, our management isn’t exactly keen on “superstars”.
Saying Justin Upton is a superstar is a bit of a stretch.
Arizona will surprise some people this year. If they signed Tanaka and Bradley develops into the ace he’s supposed to be, then they could be a very scary team. Don’t sleep on them!
Never count out the Dbacks. I think every NLW fan has figured that out already.
If they land Tanaka (and he lives up to the hipe) and Bradley develops they will have a very controllable scary top 3 in their rotation for years to come
Bradley
Tanaka
Corbin
Big market teams are the only teams that are allowed to win? Since when are the Cubs contenders? The Yankees are getting old and don’t have a farm system.
Tanaka is only 25. He’ll take Arizona’s overpay though his early 30’s and THEN take the Yankees’ overpay through his late 30’s and early 40’s.
Tanaka to Arizona would be HUUGGE
Tanaka to any team is HUUGGE