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Masahiro Tanaka

AL East Notes: Vazquez, Angels, Tanaka, Blue Jays, Taillon

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The Angels signed Kurt Suzuki this offseason, and with a catching corps of Suzuki, Max Stassi, and Anthony Bemboom, adding an upper-tier backstop “would be a luxury and not a necessity” for the team, FanSided’s Robert Murray writes.  However, the Halos have at least checked in on some prominent catchers, including Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox.  No deal appears to be close, as the Sox naturally want quite a lot for Vazquez and “there are doubts whether the Red Sox will entertain trading him” whatsoever.

Vazquez is entering his final guaranteed year of the contract extension he signed in March 2018.  He’ll earn $6.25MM in 2021, and the Red Sox hold a $7MM club option ($250K buyout) on his services for 2022.  It’s a very affordable price for one of the game’s better defensive catchers, not to mention a catcher who has swung an increasingly dangerous bat — Vazquez has hit .278/.327/.472 with 30 homers in 710 plate appearances since the start of the 2019 season.  He does turn 31 in August, so the Sox could think about moving him at a high point in his trade value, but the Angels or any suitor would have to step up with a very big offer to get Boston’s attention.

More from the AL East…

  • In a press conference announcing his return to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Masahiro Tanaka implied that he could return to Major League Baseball even before his two-year deal with the Eagles is up.  “I feel I have unfinished business in America, and I haven’t given up on that, so they agreed on terms that would keep those options open,” Tanaka said.  This could seem to hint at an opt-out clause after the 2021 season, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post notes, and quite possibly a return to the Yankees in 2022.  With the Yankees intent on resetting their luxury tax penalty limit this winter, the team opted to spend its resources elsewhere rather than re-sign Tanaka at his desired asking price.  Come next offseason, however, the Yankees might well be willing to exceed the tax threshold (and pay only a first-timer penalty fee) in order to acquire Tanaka and other roster upgrades.
  • Also from Robert Murray, Blue Jays outfielders Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk are drawing trade interest.  The addition of George Springer has created a surplus in Toronto’s outfield, with Grichuk seemingly relegated to fourth outfielder duty as Gurriel and Teoscar Hernandez are slated for the corners.  It’s safe to guess that Gurriel is the more sought-after player, since Gurriel is over two years younger than Grichuk and has a less-expensive contract — Gurriel is owed $13.4MM through the 2023 season, while Grichuk is owed $29MM.  One of the outfielders could be dangled a way of obtaining pitching, since the Jays continue to look for both rotation and bullpen help.
  • The Rays were one of the other suitors trying to obtain Jameson Taillon from the Pirates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.  Taillon ended up traded to the Yankees, and as Topkin points out, the Rays had interest in both Taillon and Corey Kluber, New York’s two main pitching acquisitions of the offseason.

Masahiro Tanaka Signs With NPB’s Rakuten Eagles

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Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka announced this morning that he will not sign with a Major League team this winter and will instead return to Nippon Professional Baseball’s Rakuten Eagles. The Eagles, Tanaka’s initial club in professional ball, formally announced a new deal and offered a warm message: “WELCOME HOME our HERO!” It’s a two-year contract, according to the Kyodo News. Tanaka, meanwhile, offered a heartfelt thank you to his fans in MLB:

To my beloved fans,

I hope  everybody is keeping safe during these challenging times. I wanted to reach out to you because I have made a decision on where I will play this coming season. I have decided to return to Japan and play for the Rakuten Eagles for the 2021 season. I wanted to make sure and touch base with you, and thank you for all the love and support you have given me for the past 7 seasons. I feel extremely fortunate for having the opportunity to take the field as a member of the New York Yankees, and play in front of all you passionate fans. It has been an honor and a privilege! Thank you so much!

Tanaka initially hinted at a return to Japan in an interview earlier this month, and there’s been increasing levels of speculation that he’d do so as the month wore on. When the Yankees re-signed DJ LeMahieu and quickly followed with a deal to sign Corey Kluber for an $11MM guarantee, it immediately became clear that Tanaka wouldn’t be returning to the Bronx; the Kluber deal pushed the Yankees right up against the luxury tax threshold — which ownership is unwilling to cross this winter — and even after dumping most of Adam Ottavino’s salary the Yankees were still less than $10MM from the barrier. There simply wasn’t much of a way for Tanaka to fit into the payroll and for the front office to stick to that apparent luxury tax mandate.

Masahiro Tanaka | Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Tanaka’s comment about returning to Japan “for the 2021 season” will certainly lead to some speculation about a future MLB return. It’s certainly possible, despite the reported two-year nature of the contract. Opt-out provisions were put into Tomoyuki Sugano’s four-year deal with the Yomiuri Giants and could certainly be a part of Tanaka’s deal with the Eagles. It’s worth emphasizing, too, that terms of contracts in Japan are deliberately obfuscated and kept close to the vest. The aforementioned Kyodo News report suggests Tanaka will earn roughly $8.6MM per season, although NPB expert Jim Allen noted in looking at the signing that even that reported sum is “subject to speculation” because of the near impossibility of verifying NPB contracts.

Whether Tanaka plays out the remainder of his career in Japan or again eyes a return to the Major Leagues, there’s little denying that his initial seven-year run with the Yankees was a success. Tanaka appeared in 174 games with New York, all but one of them starts, and pitched to a combined 3.74 ERA and 3.62 SIERA while striking out 23.1 percent of his opponents against a tidy 4.8 percent walk rate.

Tanaka sustained a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament early in his Yankees tenure and opted for rehab rather than surgery, which proved to be a wise move. While many fans continued to expect Tanaka’s elbow to give out due to that injury, Tanaka not only avoided surgery but never again landed on the injured list due to an elbow issue. He had brief IL stints for a hamstring strain, wrist tendinitis, a concussion and a 10-day stint due to shoulder tightness, but Tanaka was a veritable workhorse for the Yankees. From 2016-19, he averaged 30 games per year and six innings per start.

The 2020 season may have seen Tanaka run into some struggles in the postseason, but prior to that he was a lights-out October performer. From 2015-19, Tanaka posted a 1.76 ERA and held opponents to a .216/.258/.474 batting line in 46 playoff innings. Even after being tagged for 11 runs in eight frames in 2020, his overall postseason ERA sits at a strong 3.33.

Tanaka may not have been the ace that some Yankees fans hoped for when he was initially signed to a seven-year, $155MM contract, but he was a durable workhorse who regularly pitched deep into games, rarely was blown out of a start and put together an impressive postseason record in one of the game’s toughest divisions. He’ll surely receive a hero’s welcome in his return to the Eagles — be it virtually or in person — and MLB clubs will keep close tabs on the right-hander in case he ultimately seeks a return to North American ball.

Masahiro Tanaka In Negotiations To Return To Rakuten Eagles

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Free-agent righty Masahiro Tanaka could be nearing a return to his native Japan, as a report from Sankei Sports — and translated here by Jim Allen — indicates that the Rakuten Eagles are preparing to make an offer. Tanaka does not appear to have closed off the possibility of returning to MLB entirely, but Allen suggests that the Eagles “appear to be the leading contender” to sign the longtime Yankees righty. Tanaka played for the Eagles from 2007 to 2013.

Tanaka’s stay in New York was an unmitigated success. Over seven years, he posted a 3.74 ERA/3.91 ERA with a 47.5 percent groundball rate, 23.1 percent strikeout rate, and 4.8 percent walk rate over 1,054 1/3 innings. He made two All-Stars teams and had been nails in the postseason before two rough playoff starts in 2020. Many assumed that he would just return to the Yankees this winter, but New York has thus far moved in a different direction with the additions of Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon. Meanwhile, there has been very little buzz regarding a return to pinstripes for Tanaka.

That said, if Tanaka desires to stay in the States, he should have no trouble finding a home. The 32-year-old’s track record makes him one of the top starters left on the market. Our free agent predictions had Tanaka as the No. 10 free agent on the market – the top starting option remaining after NL Cy Young Trevor Bauer. Teams have been slow to dole out money this winter, however, which could certainly play a role in Tanaka looking elsewhere for a place to pitch in 2021.

Latest On Masahiro Tanaka

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As rotation options continue to come off the board in free agency — albeit at a slow pace — Masahiro Tanaka remains one of the market’s top unsigned options. With Corey Kluber set to join the Yankees’ rotation, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that although Tanaka and the Yanks are still in touch, there’s a “good chance” he’ll be pitching elsewhere in 2021. Recently, according to SNY’s Andy Martino, Tanaka has been seeking a one-year deal worth $15MM or more.

Heyman said on MLB Network today (video link) that Tanaka and the Yankees had discussed a two-year deal, although at this point that wouldn’t be possible without exceeding the luxury tax limit. Kluber’s $11MM deal and the $15MM annual value on DJ LeMahieu’s six-year deal bring the Yankees within just a few million dollars of the $210MM luxury barrier, which the Yankees reportedly hope to avoid. The moment Kluber agreed to terms, a new landing spot for Tanaka appeared to be in the cards (barring a change of heart from the Yankees on the tax line).

Tanaka himself recently indicated that a return to his native Japan wasn’t out of the question, and Heyman suggests that there’s “strong interest” from teams in Nippon Professional Baseball, where he may find a larger deal than in North America. Martino tweeted late last week that several around the industry view a return to Japan to be increasingly likely for Tanaka.

At the outset of free agency, a two- or even three-year deal for Tanaka, a steady workhorse in the Yankees’ rotation, appeared to be within reach. Multi-year deals for starting pitchers have been virtually nonexistent to this point, however. Mike Minor’s two-year, $18MM contract with the Royals is the lone multi-year deal that has been signed by an established starting pitcher so far this offseason. Japanese righty Kohei Arihara (Rangers) and former Mets righty Chris Flexen (Mariners) both signed small two-year arrangements, but those were speculative low-cost fliers based on their work overseas — not the type a known commodity with Tanaka’s track record would seek.

If Tanaka is indeed seeking a one-year pact at the aforementioned annual rate, it’s hard to blame him. After all, Kluber secured $11MM despite pitching just 36 1/3 innings in 2019-20 combined. Drew Smyly turned five starts with the Giants last year into his own $11MM guarantee. Charlie Morton, five years older than Tanaka, commanded a $15MM sum on a one-year deal even though he spent nearly a month of last year’s shortened schedule on the injured list due to shoulder troubles.

The 32-year-old Tanaka missed his first two starts of the 2020 season due to a concussion sustained when he was hit by a comebacker during Summer Camp, but he went on to make 10 starts for the Yankees with a 3.56 ERA and 4.07 SIERA. The UCL tear that Tanaka sustained early in his MLB career but rehabbed without Tommy John surgery continues to loom over him, but at this point it’s hard to question his durability. From 2016-19, the righty averaged 30 starts per season and six innings per start.

Outside the Yankees, interest in Tanaka hasn’t been widely reported on, though he’s surely fielded interest. The Padres were said last week to have considered Tanaka, and any team that missed on Kluber could certainly look to Tanaka as an alternative. A one-year deal would be nice way to keep his options open, but it doesn’t appear out of the question that Tanaka could command a more lucrative contract in NPB — not after Tomoyuki Sugano agreed to a four-year, $40MM deal with opt-outs after each season.

Padres Still Open To Rotation Additions, Have Looked Into Tanaka, Perez

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3:02pm: Lefty Martin Perez is another name on the Padres’ radar, tweets Rosenthal. San Diego general manager A.J. Preller played an integral role in signing and developing Perez during his days with the Rangers.

While connections between GMs and players they’ve drafted/signed/developed with prior organizations don’t always carry tons of weight, Preller has frequently shown an affinity for former Rangers since taking the reins in San Diego. Not only did he acquire Darvish earlier this winter, but he’s also acquired Jurickson Profar, Mitch Moreland and Carl Edwards Jr. in past trades and signed Ian Kinsler on a two-year free-agent deal.

None of that makes Perez any sort of lock to land in San Diego, of course, but his price tag seems more in line with the back-of-the-rotation depth role that appears available in San Diego than does Tanaka’s expected price point.

Perez, who once rated as one of the game’s elite pitching prospects, has yet to justify the considerable prospect fanfare attached to his name as a minor leaguer, but he’s a durable fifth starter who had a decent showing with the Red Sox in 2020 when he posted a 4.50 ERA in 68 innings. Beyond the ERA, there wasn’t much to like about Perez’s season: 5.43 SIERA, 6.9% K-BB%, career-low 38.5 percent grounder rate. Perez, however, has yet to turn 30, and the lone arm injury he’s suffered since 2015 Tommy John surgery came when he sustained an offseason injury in his non-throwing elbow on his ranch in Venezuela.

2:00pm: The Padres have already overhauled their pitching staff since the 2020 trade deadline, adding Mike Clevinger, Yu Darvish and Blake Snell in a trio of trades. (Clevinger, of course, is expected to miss the bulk of 2021 following Tommy John surgery.) Despite those acquisitions, the Padres still at least open to further additions and are doing “background work” on multiple candidates, including righty Masahiro Tanaka, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required).

It’s been relatively quiet in terms of Tanaka chatter this winter. There’s been plenty of speculation about a possible reunion with the Yankees, given his dependability and success in the Bronx, but the team’s focus has been squarely on DJ LeMahieu to this point. A Tanaka reunion still seems plausible, particularly if LeMahieu ultimately goes elsewhere. As Rosenthal points out, the 32-year-old Tanaka is no stranger to Padres pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who served as the right-hander’s pitching coach with the Yankees from 2014-18. And based on his track record, Tanaka ought to have plenty of other suitors. He’s also left the door open for a possible return to Japan.

Tanaka started 10 games for the Yankees in 2020, pitching to a 3.56 ERA and 4.07 SIERA while striking out 22.3 percent of the hitters he faced against a 4.1 percent walk rate — the latter being the second-best mark of his career. While Tanaka may not be the ace that Yankees fans hoped he could become when he was initially signed to a seven-year contract, he’s become a rock-solid mid-rotation starter who could deepen just about any staff in baseball. Over the past three seasons, Tanaka has pitched to a 4.06 ERA and near-identical 4.03 SIERA with a 16.9 K-BB%.

At the moment, the San Diego rotation figures to be headlined by Darvish, Snell, Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddack. Young lefty Adrian Morejon could be the early favorite for the fifth spot, and uber-prospect MacKenzie Gore looms on the horizon as an expected addition at some point in 2021. Still, Lamet missed the postseason due to elbow troubles, and signing Tanaka could help the Padres to limit the workloads of not only Lamet but also touted youngsters like Morejon and Gore. It’s expected that clubs will look for ways to prevent major workload spikes from 2020’s 60-game slate to what is currently hoped to be a full 162-game set in 2021; signing Tanaka or another veteran arm would certainly help a win-now Padres club work toward that end.

The larger question for the Padres could be one of spending capacity. The Friars are already in line to open the season north of $160MM both in present-day payroll and luxury tax obligations. Both are franchise records for the San Diego organization at a time when most other clubs throughout the league are looking to offset revenue losses from this past season. Signing Tanaka would quite likely push the Padres beyond $170MM.

Latest On Masahiro Tanaka

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With the Yankees reportedly focusing much of their attention on DJ LeMahieu’s free agency, there hasn’t been much buzz about the possibility of a reunion between Masahiro Tanaka and the Bronx Bombers.  Tanaka has made some recent comments about his future, most recently a tweet earlier today stating that he and his representatives haven’t put any sort of limit on what teams Tanaka might be considering playing for in 2021 and beyond.

This tweet came on the heels of reports suggesting Tanaka was only considering a return to the Yankees or a return to Nippon Professional Baseball, rather than signing with another MLB club.  As it happened, Tanaka left the door open to pitching in Japan in an interview on the “All Night Nippon” radio show (hat tip to Nikkan Sports), saying the chances of returning to his home country are “not zero.”  Tanaka implied that pitching for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, his original NPB team, would be his ideal choice in the event of a homecoming, but he also said he’d consider the Yomiuri Giants.

During the radio interview, Tanaka also implied that he had yet to receive a contract offer from a Major League team, which doesn’t seem implausible given the slow-moving nature of this offseason’s free agent market.  More teams than just the Yankees seem to be playing the waiting game, whether it’s for a particular player or for a broader view of the market as a whole — in terms of pitching, clubs could be waiting to see where Trevor Bauer signs, or waiting to see where trade targets land.  By that token, business could pick up now that Yu Darvish and Blake Snell have both been moved, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Tanaka begins to receive more serious attention from MLB clubs.

Rejoining the Golden Eagles or signing with another NPB team would certainly count as a surprise, since Tanaka still represents a solid investment for seemingly any Major League team looking for rotation help.  (MLB Trade Rumors ranked him 10th on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents.)  Tanaka posted a 3.56 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and 5.50 K/BB rate in 2020, with that 48-inning sample size pretty closely matching his career totals over seven Major League seasons with the Yankees.  One would imagine this type of production would be welcome in a New York rotation that is lacking in proven big league experience, though given the speculation that the Yankees are trying to stay under the luxury tax threshold, re-signing Tanaka doesn’t appear to be a priority for the team unless LeMahieu signs elsewhere.

Free Agent Notes: McCann, Angels, Yankees, Lester, Castro

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It appeared earlier Wednesday that catcher James McCann would join the Mets, though an agreement hasn’t materialized yet, and they’re not the only team chasing him at the moment. Robert Murray of FanSided tweets that the Angels are still in contention for McCann, a California native who would seemingly provide an upgrade over their current backstops, Max Stassi and Anthony Bemboom. McCann was just a backup with the White Sox last season, but he logged terrific offensive numbers then and was impressive as a starter in 2019. It could take a four-year deal to land him this winter.

Some more notes on the open market…

  • The Yankees haven’t shown interest in re-signing right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, Andy Martino of SNY says (video link). The team is more focused on re-signing second baseman DJ LeMahieu, but it doesn’t seem likely to dole out any other sizable contracts, according to Martino. Tanaka has been a dependable part of the Yankees’ rotation since he emigrated from Japan in 2014, but the club may pass on bringing him back and instead decide to ride with its in-house options to begin 2021. The YES Network’s Michael Kay painted a similar picture recently on his ESPN Radio show (link via NJ.com’s Randy Miller). Kay noted that LeMahieu is the team’s top priority, adding that if a deal comes together, he “might be the last big guy they get.” Reports over the past several months have indicated that the Yankees are unlikely to be aggressive spenders this winter, with LeMahieu serving as a possible exception after two brilliant years in the Bronx.
  • Red Sox fans hoping to see a reunion with lefty Jon Lester don’t seem likely to get their wish, as WEEI’s Rob Bradford reports that Boston hasn’t reached out to its former ace this offseason. Right-handers Corey Kluber and Matt Shoemaker are among the names the Red Sox have contacted as they look to stabilize the back of their rotation, per Bradford. Boston also had interest in Charlie Morton before he signed with the Braves, although remaining close to his family’s Florida home was a priority for Morton.
  • The Astros and Rangers are among the teams with interest in catcher Jason Castro, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. Castro began his career as a member of the Astros, with whom he played from 2010-16, before joining the Twins in free agency. The 33-year-old has regularly combined passable offense with well-regarded defense (particularly as a pitch framer), though he is coming off a somewhat disappointing campaign at the plate between the Angels and Padres. If he goes back to Houston, the left-handed-hitting Castro could platoon with righty Martin Maldonado. In Texas, he would presumably team with Jose Trevino to comprise the Rangers’ top two backstops.

Examining The Yankees’ 2021 Payroll Situation

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The Yankees 2020 season was a success by most measures – except for the 2nd-place finish behind Tampa Bay. The Rays took them out in the postseason as well, which was particularly galling with a payroll that (for a full season) floated around $265MM. The Rays, by contrast, fielded a payroll of around $73MM. As opposed to the old days, when the Yankees division rivalry with the Red Sox might prompt a spending spree to put them over the top, the Rays pose a new kind of threat. The Yankees cannot delude themselves into thinking their loss in 2020 has anything at all to do with money. The Yankees have to explore the possibility of doing more with less.

If there’s a model for the Yankees to mimic, it’s the Dodgers more so than the Rays. Though, considering that Andrew Friedman – the architect of these Dodgers – came from the Rays, one could argue that modeling oneself after the Dodgers is mimicking the Rays. The Yankees – lest we forget – are no slouches themselves when it comes to roster construction. Besides, it’s not any easier to become the Rays overnight than it is to become the Yankees overnight. Still, signs point to the Yankees facing a dramatic cut in payroll, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Sherman suggests the Yankees will want to steer clear of exceeding the $210MM luxury tax line, which means taking a significant step back payroll-wise. Making it easier for GM Brian Cashman will be a whole slew of contracts coming off the books: James Paxton ($12.5MM), Masahiro Tanaka ($23MM), DJ LeMahieu ($12MM), J.A. Happ ($17MM), Jacoby Ellsbury ($5MM), and Brett Gardner ($7.5MM).

Taking into account potential arbitration raises, Sherman pegs the Yankees current 2021 payroll to be around $171MM, which leaves probably a little more than $30MM in payroll space if the Yankees do intend to stay south of the luxury tax line. Non-tendering or trading Gary Sanchez would save $5MM, but they would need to fill his roster spot in that case.

Otherwise, they need a middle infielder – or to bring LeMahieu back. If LeMeahieu leaves, they could explore the possibility of finding a glove-first shortstop to shore up the defense while moving Gleyber Torres to second. While it’s not fun to  consider the possibility of losing LeMahieu, they could probably withstand his departure, especially with Clint Frazier looking like a viable starting outfielder. Not to diminish LeMahieu’s importance – he is the batting champ, after all – but the Yankees would otherwise return most of a crew that scored the 4th-most runs in the majors in 2020.

As much as the Yankees like LeMahieu, they have greater need in the rotation – and the money crunch is real. If Tanaka were to, say, accept a qualifying offer, their available money gets cut in half pretty quickly. LeMahieu, meanwhile, is looking at a contract that nets him $20MM per season, if MLBTR readers are to be believed.

Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Deivi Garcia, Jordan Montgomery, Clarke Schmidt, and Domingo German provides manager Aaron Boone with a better group of rotation arms than many teams have, but they’re largely unproven (or coming off lost seasons in the case of Severino/German). Especially returning to a full 162-game season, depth is key in the rotation, a lesson Yankees’ fans know well. Without any additions, the Yankees would lean heavily on Cole for the second consecutive season. As good as he was this year, he can’t win a pennant all his own.

All that said, there could be some real bargains on the free agent market this winter. It’s an offseason unlike any we’ve ever seen before. With teams planning to cut payroll almost across the board because of the revenue losses caused by the pandemic, it’s hard to pinpoint any specific club that’s definitely going to spend big money. New York could explore moving some of their committed money – like the $13MM owed to Zack Britton and his 1.89 ERA in his final season on the books – but again, given the revenue losses all across baseball, there aren’t likely to be a lot of places to dump payroll.

Yankees Activate Masahiro Tanaka, Designate Chris Iannetta

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The Yankees announced today that they have reinstated pitcher Masahiro Tanaka from the injured list and designated catcher Chris Iannetta for assignment. Tanaka is set to make his season debut after a scary injury suffered in early July, when he suffered a mild concussion after a Giancarlo Stanton line drive struck him in the head.

Tanaka will be thrust into the middle of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, wasting no time getting into the swing of the season. It’s encouraging to see the 31-year-old ready to return to action after a frightening incident during Yankees summer training forced Tanaka to be hospitalized on July 4. Fortunately, he suffered only a mild concussion and recovered quickly. With the Yankees sitting at 5-1, he’ll have missed just one start, which seems like the best-case scenario given the alarming nature of his injury.

In the meantime, the Yankees fared pretty well without their longest-tenured starting pitcher, relying on the foursome of Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, J.A. Happ, and James Paxton (along with a cameo from Jonathan Loaisiga) to start games. It’ll be a welcome sight to have Tanaka back on the mound, with his track record of consistency and playoff success making him a fan favorite in New York.

Last season was in fact one of Tanaka’s worst statistically since joining the Yankees in 2014. Despite garnering his second All-Star selection, he posted the second-worst ERA of his career (4.45) and struck out batters at a career-low rate (7.4 K/9).

The removal of Iannetta from the Yanks’ 40-man roster leaves just two catchers, Gary Sanchez and Kyle Higashioka. Beyond that duo, Erik Kratz, Josh Thole, and Max McDowell are members of the 60-man player pool. The other 29 teams will now have the opportunity to acquire Iannetta via trade or waivers. If no one bites, the 37-year-old will likely hit the open market and have a chance to latch on with a new club.

New York Notes: DeGrom, Tanaka, Hicks, Cessa, Gsellman

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After tossing 60 pitches in a simulated game today, Jacob deGrom looks likely to be ready for Friday’s season opener.  (The New York Post’s Dan Martin was among those to report the news.)  While a simulated game isn’t a substitute for a real outing, of course, deGrom’s strong results were encouraging — he didn’t allow a hit against any of the 14 batters faced, and recorded nine strikeouts.  Back tightness caused deGrom to leave last Tuesday’s intrasquad game after only an inning of work, leading to fresh questions as to whether or not the Mets ace would be ready for the start of the season.

With the Mets and Yankees squaring off in exhibition action tonight, here are some notes from both Big Apple franchises…

  • DeGrom isn’t the only star pitcher showing progress, as Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka looked good during a bullpen session today.  Manager Aaron Boone told the New York Post’s George A. King III and other media that Tanaka will likely next face hitters possibly as early as Tuesday, which would mark the first time Tanaka has faced live batters since being hit in the head by a Giancarlo Stanton line drive on July 4.  Tanaka fortunately escaped with only a mild concussion, and if he continues to rehab well, Tanaka may end up missing only one start.  “It is possible he will be able to start at the back end of the second trip through the rotation,” King writes.
  • Aaron Hicks underwent Tommy John surgery last October, but told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch that his right elbow “feels good right now,” and he is on pace to make the Yankees’ Opening Day roster.  Throwing has been a particular source of improvement, as Hicks said “the ball has been coming out really well this past week.  I feel like I’ve been able to get a lot more carry on my ball, especially throwing to home [plate].”
  • Also from Hoch’s notes piece, Luis Cessa has arrived at the Yankees’ Summer Camp after recovering from COVID-19.  The right-hander tested positive before arriving in camp, and went through the standard procedure of a two-week quarantine and two consecutive negative test results before being allowed to join his teammates.  Cessa played catch today and will throw off a mound on Monday, though it isn’t yet clear if he will ready for the Yankees’ first game.
  • Robert Gsellman has been battling tightness in his right triceps, Mets manager Luis Rojas told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters.  While Gsellman has started to play catch off of flat ground, Rojas wasn’t sure if Gsellman would be available for the Opening Day roster.  The right-hander has been a workhorse reliever for the Mets over the last two seasons, tossing 143 1/3 relief innings and posting a 4.45 ERA, 2.55 K/BB rate, and 8.1 K/9.  Gsellman missed six weeks with a similar injury last season, though Rojas said “there’s nothing of concern as far as past history.”
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