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Angels Sign Taylor Jones To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have signed first baseman/outfielder Taylor Jones to a minor league contract, according to Jones’ official MLB.com profile page.  Jones entered into minor league free agency after turning down an outright assignment from the Giants back in November.

Jones (who turned 29 last month) has appeared in each of the last three MLB seasons, all with the Astros.  Of his 131 career plate appearances, 108 came in the 2021 campaign — Jones had only 22 PA in his 2020 debut season and then made just one plate appearance in a single big league game in 2022.  Jones was hampered by a back injury that kept him from game action until June of last season, and though he still had solid Triple-A numbers, Houston designated him for assignment in September and the Giants claimed Jones into their organization.

Jones has only a .234/.260/.395 slash line to show for his 131 PA in the Show, but his bat has been much more productive in Triple-A ball.  Jones has hit .279/.377/.485 with 49 home runs over 1257 PA at the Triple-A level, though with the caveat that Jones has likely gotten some benefit from playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

That PCL tenure will continue with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, and Jones can provide the Halos with some depth at multiple positions.  Jones has played mostly first base over his career, but has also seen some time as a third baseman and a corner outfielder (primarily in left field).  Los Angeles is already pretty deep in right-handed bats and Shohei Ohtani’s presence pretty much rules out DH opportunities, though depending on how the Angels juggle their roster, Jones might find a niche as a right-handed complement to Jared Walsh, who is slated to be the regular first baseman.

Mariners Sign AJ Pollock

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The Mariners added a right-handed bat to their outfield mix Thursday, formally announcing their previously reported one-year signing of veteran AJ Pollock.  The Excel Sports Management client will be guaranteed $7MM on the deal and can earn an additional $3MM via incentives.

The Twins and Rangers were also known to have interest in Pollock, whose entry into the offseason market was at least somewhat unexpected.  Pollock batted a disappointing .245/.292/.389 over 527 plate appearances with the White Sox in 2022, yet he still opted to decline his $13MM player option for the 2023 season.  That option contained a hefty $5MM buyout, so between that money and the $7MM salary Pollock is receiving on his new deal with Seattle, the 35-year-old’s opt-out decision left $1MM in guaranteed money on the table.  With enough playing time to reach his contract’s incentives, however, he could match or even surpass that sum.

Pollock catches on with an intriguing Mariners team that reached the ALDS last season and is hopeful of taking more steps forward into World Series contention.  Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is no stranger to Pollock, as Dipoto was working in the Diamondbacks’ front office when Arizona drafted Pollock with the 17th overall pick of the 2009 draft.

With center fielder Julio Rodriguez established as the bedrock of the Seattle outfield, the M’s have spent a lot of their offseason business on reinforcing and sorting out the corner outfield positions.  Mitch Haniger departed in free agency and Kyle Lewis and Jesse Winker were traded, while the Mariners acquired Teoscar Hernandez from the Blue Jays to act as the new everyday right fielder (and probable part-time DH).  Signing Pollock puts another right-handed bat into left field, with Jarred Kelenic and Taylor Trammell adding left-handed depth as platoon partners for Pollock or as bench options.

Some level of platoon shielding might be necessary given how Pollock’s numbers against right-handed pitching drastically fell off in 2022.  Always a solid bat against righty pitching in the past, Pollock hit only .231/.284/.309 over 394 plate appearances against righties last year.  This was the root of Pollock’s offensive struggles, as he continued to mash lefties to the tune of a .286/.316/.619 slash line and 11 homers over 133 trips to the plate.

In terms of overall Statcast metrics, Pollock’s 2022 performance didn’t differ all that greatly from previous seasons, though his hard-contract rate took a notable drop from 2021.  His speed and baserunning also took a hit, perhaps due to hamstring injuries in each of the last two seasons.  The biggest issue was a lack of power, as after posting a .227 Isolated Power number from 2017-21, Pollock dropped to only .143 in 2022.

Playing at spacious T-Mobile Park might not help Pollock regain all of that power stroke, though there are some reasons the Mariners can be hopeful about a rebound.  If Pollock is “only” a lefty-masher again, the M’s theoretically have enough left-handed outfield candidates to pick up the slack.  Moving back from less than a full-time role might be helpful for Pollock, as his 138 games played last season represented the second-highest total of his 11 MLB seasons — it could be that staying relatively healthy last year actually hampered Pollock or wore him down to some extent.  A normal offseason and Spring Training routine heading into 2023 would be just what the 35-year-old needs to produce a bounce-back year.

Just yesterday on MLBTR, Steve Adams wrote about the Mariners’ search for a right-handed hitting outfielder, and the broader sense that the M’s were having a strangely quiet offseason for a team that seemed poised to make some splashy final touches to a contender.  Adding Pollock for $7MM won’t quell speculation that ownership isn’t stretching the budget as much as expected, and yet the signing can also be viewed as a relatively inexpensive but smart investment.  Pollock was posting big numbers as recently as 2021, he has been a solid performer for most of his career, and he brings some more veteran experience and championship pedigree (Pollock was a big part of the Dodgers’ 2020 title team) to the young Mariners.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the agreement and the base terms (Twitter link). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the additional incentives.

Liam Hendriks To Begin Treatment For Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

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White Sox closer Liam Hendriks announced on his Instagram page tonight that he will be starting treatment Monday for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“Hearing the word ’cancer’ came as a shock to my wife and I, as it does to millions of families each year.  However, I am resolved to embrace the fight and overcome this new challenge with the same determination I have used when facing other obstacles in my life,” Hendriks wrote.  “My treatment begins tomorrow, and I am confident that I will make a full recovery and be back on the mound as soon as possible.  I know with the support of my wife, my family, my teammates, and the Chicago White Sox organization, along with the treatment and care from my doctors, I will get through this.”

White Sox GM Rick Hahn also released a statement on behalf of the team: “Our thoughts and reactions at this time are for Liam the person, not Liam the baseball player.  I know the entire Chicago White Sox organization, our staff, his teammates, and certainly White Sox fans, will rally in support of Liam and Kristi during the coming months.  Knowing everyone involved, especially Liam, we are optimistic he will pitch again for the White Sox as soon as viable.  In the meantime, we all will do everything in our power to support our teammate and his family as they face this challenge, while also respecting their privacy.  We do not expect to have any updates on Liam’s playing status prior to Opening Day at the very earliest.”

Hendriks celebrates his 34th birthday in February, and the native of Perth, Australia is coming off his third All-Star season.  Beginning his big league career with the Twins in 2011, it took Hendriks until 2015 (as a member of the Blue Jays) to really break out, which kicked off a run of four solid but unspectacular seasons of bullpen work.  In 2019, however, Hendriks took things to another level, as he has emerged as one of the game’s best closers after posting a 2.26 ERA, 38.8% strikeout rate, and 5.1% walk rate over 239 innings since start of the 2019 campaign.

All three of Hendriks’ All-Star selections have come in that dominant four-year stretch, and it led to a big free agent payday during the 2020-21 offseason.  Hendriks is two seasons into a three-year, $54MM deal with the White Sox that includes a unique $15MM club option for 2024 that also carries a $15MM buyout (which would be covered in deferred payments if the Sox did decline the option).

Beyond his success on the field, Hendriks is also a widely popular player, beloved by teammates and fans alike.  Today’s news has already started an outpouring of support for Hendriks on social media, and we at MLB Trade Rumors join the rest of the baseball world in wishing him a full recovery.

Hahn’s statement provided some rough idea of a timeline for how long Hendriks might be sidelined, though obviously the situation is very fluid.  Pitching is naturally just about the last thing on Hendriks’ mind at the moment, and for the White Sox as well, simply getting their friend and teammate healthy is infinitely more important than roster impact.

There is no easy way to replace Hendriks in Chicago’s bullpen, as while Kendall Graveman is probably the likeliest candidate to step in as closer, bumping everyone up the depth chart leaves the White Sox relief corps thinner as a whole.  There had been some trade buzz surrounding Hendriks earlier this winter, as the Mets and other teams had interest in adding a high-end reliever, and there was some thought that the White Sox could move Hendriks (and his contract) as a way to address other roster needs without expanding the budget.

Make Or Break Year: Jack Flaherty

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Jack Flaherty posted a 3.01 ERA, 29.8% strikeout rate, and 8.2% walk rate over 347 1/3 innings during the 2018-19 seasons, finishing fifth in NL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2018 and then fourth in Cy Young Award voting in 2019.  After coming up through the Cardinals’ farm system as a top-100 ranked prospect, it certainly looked like Flaherty was living up to that potential, and establishing himself as a frontline pitcher in St. Louis heading into the next decade.

Since then, however, things haven’t gone nearly as smoothly.  He was one of several Cardinals sidelined by a COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, missing four weeks of an already shortened season and finishing with a 4.91 ERA over 40 1/3 innings.  Unfortunately, abbreviated seasons became the trend for Flaherty, as he has tossed only 114 1/3 innings over 26 games since the start of the 2021 campaign.

An oblique strain and a shoulder strain limited Flaherty to 78 1/3 frames in 2021, and the shoulder problems carried over into 2022 when Flaherty needed a PRP injection to deal with bursitis during Spring Training.  The recovery time and prerequisite ramp-up time delayed Flaherty’s season debut until June, but another shoulder strain just a couple of weeks later resulted in another visit to the 60-day injured list.  He was able to return for five starts and a relief appearance in September/October, but Flaherty banked only 36 total innings last season.

Adding to Flaherty’s frustration is the fact that he has been pretty effective when on the mound, particularly prior to his oblique strain in 2021.  The righty had a 3.54 ERA/4.26 SIERA over those 114 1/3 innings in the last two seasons, despite the mostly stop-and-start nature of his appearances.  One can only imagine how well Flaherty might have been able to pitch had he been healthy, and how an in-form version of Flaherty might’ve helped the Cardinals (winless in three postseason games in those seasons) make more of an impact in the playoffs.

Considering the small sample sizes involved, it’s hard to extrapolate much from Flaherty’s lackluster Statcast metrics in the last two years, though he at least still had above-average strikeout and walk rates in 2021.  Put simply, Flaherty’s most important statistic in 2023 will be innings pitched, since good health is his only path back to true front-of-the-rotation status, or even just being a consistent member of a big league rotation.

Now entering his third and final year of salary arbitration, Flaherty’s setbacks had a significant impact on his earning potential.  He won an arb hearing over the Cardinals to earn a $3.9MM salary in 2021, and then avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $5MM salary last season.  With so few innings to build on in 2022, Flaherty is projected to earn only a minimal raise up to $5.1MM for the coming season.

On the plus side, just one healthy and effective season can still line Flaherty up for a hefty contract in free agency next winter.  Flaherty doesn’t even turn 28 until October, so there are several prime seasons still theoretically available for any team interested in paying a premium.  In this scenario, Flaherty’s agents at CAA Sports might even seek a multi-year with an early opt-out clause, which would allow Flaherty to re-enter the market prior to his age-30 or age-31 season.

But, first things first — Flaherty has to avoid any more lengthy trips to the IL.  Rotation-mate Steven Matz is in the same boat after an injury-marred 2022 season, and Matz and Flaherty are projected to pitch at the back end of a St. Louis rotation that also includes Miles Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, and Jordan Montgomery.  Such pitchers as Dakota Hudson, Matthew Liberatore, Jake Woodford, and Zack Thompson are also on hand for depth, and while the Cardinals are certainly prioritizing winning over auditioning younger pitchers, the team may feel some pressure to see what they have in their controllable arms.  Matz is the only member of the projected starting five who is under contract beyond 2023, as Flaherty, Montgomery, Wainwright (who might retire), and Mikolas are all free agents.

With this many rotation holes to address, it seems probable that the Cardinals will broach an extension with at least one pitcher this spring, yet Flaherty is probably the least likely to work out a long-term deal.  Based on his lack of innings or real results in the last two seasons, Flaherty probably doesn’t want to risk undercutting his earning potential in advance of what he naturally hopes will be a rebound season, and the Cards likewise might not want to make a big investment in a pitcher who has been such an injury magnet for two years running.

It sets the stage for an intriguing season for the 27-year-old righty, as Flaherty might be heading into his final year in St. Louis regardless of how well he pitches.  Either another injury-plagued year leads the Cardinals to move on, or Flaherty might himself depart for a big free agent contract on the heels of a successful bounce-back campaign.

How Much More Do The Padres Have To Spend?

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After exceeding the luxury tax limit in each of the last two seasons, the Padres aren’t slowing down their spending.  Signing Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280MM deal was the splashiest move of a busy offseason, but San Diego also made significant investments to re-sign Nick Martinez and Robert Suarez, as well as bring in other new talents in Seth Lugo and Matt Carpenter.  The Padres also checked in on any number of other players, including Aaron Judge, Trea Turner, Christian Vazquez, Jose Abreu, Kodai Senga, Chris Bassitt, and Nathan Eovaldi.

The result is a projected $249.4MM payroll for 2023 is the highest in club history, as well as estimated tax number of roughly $266.6MM.  However, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, “people familiar with the team’s thinking say the Padres are up against a self-prescribed spending limit.”  This limit isn’t necessarily absolute, since as Lin notes, the internal spending limit is ultimately up to owner Peter Seidler, who might decide to again green-light a big expenditure if it means getting the Padres a step closer to a World Series title.

Still, it would seem like payroll space might be at something of a premium, given San Diego’s most recent moves.  Adam Engel was signed to a one-year guaranteed deal, and while terms aren’t yet known, it’s safe to assume Engel isn’t getting more than the $2.3MM he was projected to earn in arbitration.  Brent Honeywell was signed to a split contract, while Wilmer Font and Eric Hanhold were inked to minor league deals.  Naturally, all teams (no matter the payroll) look for lower-cost depth as the offseason goes on, but the Padres still have some notable needs that would require a bigger fix.

President of baseball operations AJ Preller is no stranger to creative trades, so the Padres could look to address those needs while freeing up some salary at the same time.  For instance, the Padres have at least some openness to moving infielder Ha-Seong Kim, who has a $7MM luxury tax number (based on average annual value) and who is owed $25MM over next two seasons.  Trent Grisham has also been floated as a possible trade candidate, though Grisham is among the less-expensive members of San Diego’s roster.  Dating back to last season, there has long been speculation that Blake Snell (owed $16MM in 2023) could be dealt, even if such a move wouldn’t help fix the depth issues in the Padres’ rotation.

Between trades and promotions, the Padres’ farm system has lost a lot of its depth; Baseball America rated the Padres only 23rd of 30 teams in its midseason organizational talent rankings.  As such, this could complicate the concept of San Diego attaching a prospect or two to an undesirable contract in trade talks.  For instance, Drew Pomeranz missed all of 2022 recovering from flexor tendon surgery, and the reliever is owed $10MM in 2023.  A rebuilding team could be enticed to take Pomeranz’s deal off the Padres’ books if some minor league talent was added as a sweetener, except San Diego might not have the prospects to spare.

Diamondbacks Considering Selling Minority Share Of Franchise

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With the Nationals and Angels possibly being sold within the coming months, the Diamondbacks could also be making a portion of their franchise available.  According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, D’Backs managing general partner Ken Kendrick is weighing the possibility of “selling a significant, but still minority share” of the team.

Kendrick is reportedly waiting until after the Angels’ sale is finalized to further explore the possibility of selling the minority stake.  This would seem to suggest that Kendrick might reach out to Angels bidders who fall short in their quest for full ownership of the Halos, as such a bidder (particularly one based in Southern California) might have interest in gaining another foothold in an MLB ownership group with a D’Backs club that is just a short flight away from the greater Los Angeles area.

Majority control of the Diamondbacks is owned by a four-person investment group that took over the club in 2004 from initial majority owner Jerry Colangelo.  Kendrick is the managing general partner of the four-person group, and acts as the public face of the group as well as MLB’s designated control person for the D’Backs franchise.  The exact breakdown of the franchise’s minority owners isn’t known, though the team told The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan in April 2020 that “around 10” minority partners.  That came after a push by Kendrick to consolidate the Diamondbacks’ number of minority partners, which led to a lawsuit filed against the organization by three of the minority owners.

This latest effort to find a new minority owner could be part of Kendrick’s same consolidation plan.  Also, given how the sale is still only a consideration and possibly contingent on what happens with the Angels, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Kendrick’s group might view selling a minority share as the first step in selling the D’Backs as a whole.  That said, buying a minority share in a team can be a path to a larger change in ownership.  Back in June, the Guardians finalized a sale of roughly 25-30% of the team to David Blitzer, and the deal reportedly contains a clause that would allow Blitzer to buy a majority stake in the Cleveland franchise in 2028.

Forbes Magazine approximated the Diamondbacks as being worth $1.38 billion in their most recent (March 2022) listings of Major League Baseball franchise values.  The most recent teams sold were the Mets ($2.4 billion) and Royals ($1 billion) in 2020, though it can be expected that the Nationals and Angels will continue to drive those numbers upwards.  There has been speculation that it will take over $2 billion to buy the Nats, while the Angels might be able to clear the Mets’ total or perhaps even get closer to $3 billion.

During the Winter Meetings, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the league hoped to have the Angels’ sale completed by Opening Day, though there hasn’t been any particular news on that front.  Nightengale writes that the Opening Day deadline doesn’t seem likely, and that interested parties are still being allowed to bid — just this past week, Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob said he was also considering bidding on the Angels.  As such, it could be some time yet before that deal is done, which gives the Diamondbacks more time to monitor the situation.

Tigers Notes: Harris, Soto, Offense, Bullpen

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The Tigers swung a trade with the Phillies earlier today, landing outfielder Matt Vierling, utilityman Nick Maton, and catcher Donny Sands in exchange for one of Detroit’s biggest trade chips.  Gregory Soto’s emergence as the Tigers’ closer resulted in two All-Star appearances in as many seasons, but the left-hander and the versatile Kody Clemens are now both part of Philadelphia’s organization.

Soto was arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, so the Tigers weren’t necessarily in any immediate rush to ship him elsewhere.  Back at the trade deadline, the Tigers put a high asking price on any Soto deal, and those demands didn’t change even after Scott Harris was hired as the team’s new president of baseball operations in September.  With the Phillies finally stepping up to satisfy Detroit’s ask for younger, controllable, and MLB-ready players, the trade was made.

“We felt like this deal was over the line for us,” Harris told reporters, including Chris McCosky of the Detroit News.  “We wanted to make the deal now.  Performance next year, even in the first half of next year, is never a certainty. That would be another risk that we would’ve taken.  That’s not a comment on Gregory as a pitcher, it’s just a reality of performance in this industry….And we’re thrilled that we got back players who have a chance to help us in 2023 and beyond.”

Rival teams’ interest in the Tigers’ relief corps naturally continued into the winter.  Soto represents the second major reliever traded away from Detroit’s bullpen during Harris’ brief tenure, as Joe Jimenez was also dealt to the Braves in December.  Andrew Chafin is a free agent, but it doesn’t seem like a return to Detroit is in the cards, as Harris implied that a further left-handed addition to the pen could be a minor league signing.

“We are hard at work on” this new acquisition, Harris said.  “It may not be a major league deal, but [it’s] someone we’re excited about.  We also have some pitchers in the minor leagues who are on the verge of taking a step forward.”

Jake Higginbotham (acquired in the Jimenez deal), Sean Guenther, and Zach Logue are three of the left-handed relief options in the farm system who could be competing during Spring Training for a bullpen job.  Tyler Alexander is currently the only southpaw penciled into a spot on the Opening Day lineup.  As for the bullpen as a whole, Harris said the Tigers will use Spring Training as a testing ground to see which incumbents or new faces could fill particular roles in the depleted bullpen.

The Tigers are betting they have enough relief depth to make up for losing so many prominent names from their 2022 bullpen, and naturally there is some risk involved is trading from what was basically the club’s only bright spot in an otherwise disastrous season.  While the relievers by and large did their job, the rotation was crushed by injuries, and the position players almost entirely failed to hit.  The result was a 66-96 record, and a huge setback for a team that invested a lot of money last offseason into a return to contention.

Former general manager Al Avila was fired by the Tigers in August, and Harris has now been tasked with filling a lot of holes up and down the roster.  To this end, trading from the bullpen depth was the new PBO’s most logical move.

“The bullpen was an area of strength for us but we have to address areas of weakness, too,” Harris said. “We’ve done a lot of work to add to our pitching and defense to stabilize this group.  And we have to reshape the offense.  I’ve been talking about it since the day I got here.”

Vierling and Maton each made their big league debuts in 2021, and have been used in part-time roles throughout their two MLB seasons.  The duo stand out as possible everyday additions to Detroit’s lineup, though their versatility allows either player to be used almost anywhere on the diamond.  Vierling played mostly outfield in Philadelphia, but in all positions, and also saw some work as a first baseman, second baseman, and third baseman.  Maton has mostly been a middle infielder, but he has also seen time in both corner outfield positions and at third base.  As noted by Harris, Vierling and Maton are “comfortable both on the grass and in the dirt….Those types of players are hard to find and we feel we’ve added two who have already performed in the big leagues.”

Mariners Acquire Justin Topa

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The Mariners announced a swap of right-handers, as Justin Topa was acquired from the Brewers in exchange for minor leaguer Joseph Hernandez.

Topa has pitched in each of the last three MLB seasons, albeit in the limited fashion of 18 1/3 innings over 17 total games.  The righty has an 8.35 ERA for his brief career, thanks to two particularly disastrous outings in 2021 that saw Topa charged with nine earned runs over 1 1/3 frames of work.

A flexor tendon strain sidelined Topa for most of the 2021 season, and flexor tendon surgery resulted in another trip to the 60-day injured list last season.  Since the start of the 2021 campaign, Topa has thrown only 45 1/3 total innings in the majors and minors (10 2/3 IP in MLB, 34 2/3 in the minors).  Injury absences have unfortunately been the story of a career that began as a 17th-round pick for the Pirates in the 2013 draft, as Topa has previously undergone two Tommy John surgeries.

Between all the health issues and even brief drops out of affiliated baseball (Topa played for indy ball teams for parts of the 2017 and 2018 seasons), Topa is a hard player to evaluate as he enters his age-32 season.  However, he immediately drew attention as a possible late-blooming gem when he made his MLB debut in 2020, and posted a 2.35 ERA with 12 strikeouts and no walks over his first 7 2/3 innings.  This performance earned Topa a spot on Milwaukee’s postseason roster, and he threw two scoreless innings in his lone appearance.

A hard-thrower who averaged 97.5mph on his fastball in that debut season, Topa’s velocity fell to a 95.7mph average over the last two seasons.  While we’re dealing with small sample sizes all around in these three brief bits of Major League exposure for Topa, his injury situation explains the velo drop, and the next step will be seeing if he can regain any velocity now that the flexor tendon issue seems to be behind him.

The Mariners were intrigued enough by Topa to spend a 40-man roster spot on him, and Seattle also parted ways with a 22-year-old coming off a breakout season at single-A.  Hernandez posted a 3.39 ERA over 116 2/3 innings in 2022, with an impressive 29.4% strikeout rate but an underwhelming 11.1% walk rate.  This does at least represent some improved control from earlier in Hernandez’s career, and the righty’s swing-and-miss numbers indicated how dangerous he could be with improved command.

Hernandez started 22 of 24 games in 2022, and the Brewers will certainly continue to give the right-hander chances as as a starting pitcher.  If the control problems persist, Hernandez’s ultimate future (and path to the big leagues) might come as a reliever, and he possesses an excellent slider that could be even more devastating in a limited role.

Masahiro Tanaka Re-Signs With Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

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The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have re-signed veteran righty Masahiro Tanaka to a one-year deal worth 475 million yen (roughly $3.6MM), according to the Japan Times and several other media outlets.  This will be Tanaka’s third season back in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Golden Eagles, following his stint in MLB with the Yankees from 2014-20.

Now entering his age-34 season, Tanaka rose to prominence as an 18-year-old with the Golden Eagles back in 2007, and established himself as arguably NPB’s best pitcher over his first seven seasons in Japan.  That success naturally made Tanaka a hot commodity when he chose to explore a move to the big leagues, as the Golden Eagles posted the right-hander prior to the 2014 season.

The Yankees landed Tanaka with a seven-year, $155MM contract (plus a $20MM posting fee to the Eagles), and he mostly lived up to the hype, posting a solid 3.74 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate, and a tiny 4.8% walk rate over 1054 1/3 regular-season innings in the majors, and then a 3.33 ERA over 54 frames in the postseason.  Somewhat remarkably, most of that production came after a partial tear in his right UCL was discovered midway through the 2014 season, as the discomfort never became great enough for Tanaka to require Tommy John surgery.

Upon entering free agency in the 2020-21 offseason, Tanaka’s first choice was to re-sign with New York, but the Yankees’ chief order of business that winter was resetting its luxury tax penalties by getting under the tax threshold.  The Yankees signed Corey Kluber to a one-year, $11MM deal that essentially closed the door on a Tanaka reunion, and the righty then chose to return to his home country rather than explore other options in North America.  Tanaka inked a two-year deal with the Golden Eagles that had an opt-out clause last winter, but perhaps due to the lockout that ate up most of the MLB offseason, Tanaka chose to remain in his contract.

This latest pact represents a significant pay cut from Tanaka’s previous deal, as he reportedly earned 900 million yen in both 2021 and 2022.  While Tanaka wasn’t quite his ace-level self from his initial stint in NPB, he still had a 3.16 ERA over 318 2/3 innings over the last two seasons, with a drop in strikeouts but continued elite control.  Despite these numbers, Tanaka was most focused on his 13-21 win-loss record.  As he said during an online news conference, “four wins (in 2021) and then nine (in 2022) are far behind the big expectations the club had for me and are a betrayal of the fans’ hopes too.  It’s been a really undignified two years.”

Tanaka’s rather blunt self-assessment would imply that he views the 2023 NPB season as unfinished business, which perhaps explains why there wasn’t any public buzz about a possible return to the majors this offseason. Lack of wins notwithstanding, Tanaka still seems to be pitching well enough that MLB teams might have had interest, especially given the high price tags associated with so many other hurlers in free agency.  Of course, it isn’t known if Tanaka was open to pitching in the majors whatsoever, and if so, anywhere besides the Bronx.  The Yankees were already pretty deep in rotation options even before signing Carlos Rodon to a six-year, $162MM contract.

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