Tanaka accepts $155 million deal with Yankees

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com | 1/22/2014 11:13 A.M. ET

NEW YORK -- Masahiro Tanaka has made his decision, and after a round of secretive negotiations with several big league clubs, the prized right-hander is headed to the Bronx.

Tanaka's agreement with the Yankees is worth $155 million over seven years and includes an opt-out clause that can be exercised after the 2017 season, a person with knowledge of the deal confirmed to MLB.com.

The Yankees have not formally announced the agreement, but co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner confirmed the deal to The Associated Press, saying, "We had to make sure we had enough pitching to go together with our new lineup."

Tanaka, 25, went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA for the Rakuten Golden Eagles last season, pitching the team to a Japan Series title. The total value of the contract is the fifth-highest for a pitcher in Major League history, and the Yankees owe a $20 million posting fee to Rakuten under the terms of baseball's revised posting system with Nippon Professional Baseball.

Tanaka's deal falls in line behind the seven-year contracts of the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw ($215 million), the Tigers' Justin Verlander ($180 million), the Mariners' Felix Hernandez ($175 million) and the Yankees' CC Sabathia ($161 million on his first contract with the Yankees, signed in December 2008).

The Yankees were willing to dig deep for Tanaka, whom they viewed as a top priority while seeking to upgrade a starting rotation that projects to also include Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova. Tanaka will likely slot in as either the No. 2 or No. 3 starter.

Widely considered to be the top available pitcher in the marketplace, Tanaka drew serious interest not only from the Yankees but also the Dodgers, Angels, Cubs, White Sox and Diamondbacks. The Yankees sent assistant general manager Billy Eppler to Japan last season to see Tanaka in person.

Tanaka and his representative, Casey Close, have until 5 p.m. ET on Friday to finalize the contract. Tanaka underwent a physical exam during a recent visit to Los Angeles, where he was greeted by a contingent of interested Yankees officials.

Since debuting as an 18-year-old with Rakuten in 2007, Tanaka has compiled a career record of 99-35 with a 2.30 ERA in 175 games. He has recorded 1,238 strikeouts in 1,315 career innings, wielding a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s as well as a devastating split-finger pitch.

"It's nasty. I think when he gets on big league mounds, I think it's going to be nastier," said former Yankee pitcher Darrell Rasner, a teammate of Tanaka's for the past five seasons. "I don't know how guys even fouled the ball off sometimes. It looks like it starts at their waist and hits the dirt in front of the plate. I don't understand it. It's nasty. It's an absolute strikeout pitch."

Former Yankees outfielder Andruw Jones also played with Tanaka last season in Japan and said that, after standing as the league's top pitcher for the past three seasons, it is time for Tanaka to try his skill set against Major League hitters.

"He can overpower and he can control," Jones said. "He's got two pitches to strike out. ... It's not like [Yu] Darvish. [Tanaka] pitched more to contact. He wanted guys to get the ball on the ground and get double plays. He's a tremendous fielder. You hit the ball at him and he's going to catch it. He just pitches to contact. He spots his control and keeps the ball down in the zone. If you do those things up in the Major Leagues, you've got a good chance."

The signing ensures that the Yankees' payroll figure will shoot past $189 million for the 2014 season. Managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner spoke often about how it was a goal, but not a mandate, to get below that figure in order to take advantage of luxury-tax benefits.

Steinbrenner also said repeatedly, often to the point of frustration, that a lower payroll would not come at the expense of fielding a championship-caliber team. With Tanaka in the rotation, the Yankees appear to be closer to that objective.

Tanaka becomes arguably the most prominent offseason addition to a rebuilt Yankees roster that will also field outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran and catcher Brian McCann, all of whom signed as free agents, as they look to rebound from an 85-win season and third-place finish in 2013.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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