Golden Eagles To Post Masahiro Tanaka

[BSN07]

The Rakuten Golden Eagles have decided to post star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, according to reports from Japanese outlets Sponichi (link) and Nikkan Sports (link). It's a turnaround from reports last week that indicated the Golden Eagles were leaning against allowing Tanaka to make the jump to MLB.

 

This guy is being talked about in a lot of threads. Now that he is officially posted I figure we can consolidate everything into one thread.

 

My opinion from what I've read and seen(I'm not a scout I'm talking ESPN MLBTR and youtube people) he looks more Dice K than Darvish to me. I don't believe the Sox will be in on him. I think after Darvish's 108M total investment Tanaka will get in the 115-130M range( 20M to Eagles, rest to Tanaka over 6-7 years).

 

The Yanks have t be considered interested regardless of their desire to get under the LT threshold and Arod's salary a ? at the moment. I think Seattle makes a lot of sense. AZ looks to be serious and the Cubs could make a a solid case as well.

[Palodios]

I'm scared of pitchers who threw in those crazy Japanese high school tournaments. Yu had far fewer innings on his arm when he came over. Either way, this will be a huge bidding war.

[Palodios]

The Yankees make a ton of sense based on their needs, but the Cubs may make more sense for Tanaka. There will be pressure to do well, but he should have some time to adjust to the majors before the farm arrives and the team is a big contender. The cubs will be deep into the bidding on this one.

[a700hitter]

I'm scared of pitchers who threw in those crazy Japanese high school tournaments. Yu had far fewer innings on his arm when he came over. Either way, this will be a huge bidding war.

I have the same concern. High pitch counts in Japan also scare me. When Dice k came to the Sox, his high pitch counts were legendary. That should have been cause for caution. Why would high pitch counts be needed for lower level competition? That will be a huge issue in transitioning to MLB.