Rosenthal: Tanaka signs with Yankees
- Thread starter Corsi
- Start date
Even with the pressure and meddling that it comes with, Cashmans job is pretty awesome. He gets the big payroll to play with and he gets to make moves like this that seem to have no bearing on his job security.
jon abbey said:
They may sign him too.
This should break up the ice jam on the river of starting pitching. We'll probably see a few starters sign over the next few days.
Hey Opes, the Yankees will never suck for more than 1 year as long as there is no hard cap. They will do just what they did after 2008, drop a half bil on the open market and plug holes and carry on.
Bruce Arthur @bruce_arthur20s
Also, per @JoelSherman1, the Yankees didn't give Tanaka a physical themselves, and trusted the agent's physical. Sounds foolproof.
that seems like a very risky move by the yankees
Also, per @JoelSherman1, the Yankees didn't give Tanaka a physical themselves, and trusted the agent's physical. Sounds foolproof.
that seems like a very risky move by the yankees
Tanaka's AAV ($22.143M) puts the Yankees at $209.849M for 2014 luxury tax purposes. I can't express how awesome it is that they're on track to remain at the 50% tax rate for the duration of the current CBA (through 2016). On top of the $20M posting fee to Rakuten, and assuming they don't dump salary for any of their current commitments, they're slated to pay $10.45M in luxury tax.
Updating a post I made in the "under $189M" thread last week:
I'm assuming A-Rod's cap figure will be recalculated to account for this year's reduced payout, so here are the AAVs for players currently under contract for 2015:
$25.137 Rodriguez
$22.500 Teixeira
$24.400 Sabathia
$22.143 Tanaka
$21.857 Ellsbury
$17.000 McCann
$15.000 Beltran
$03.500 Thornton
$02.500 Ryan
Subtotal = $154.037M for just 9 players.
Add the estimated $17M for benefits/40-man/minors commitments, and it's $171.037M. Bear in mind that in 2015 and 2016, the MLB and minor league minimum salaries are subject to cost-of-living increases, which I haven't accounted for.
And they'll still have 16 spots to fill on the 25-man roster, or 17 if they decide to release A-Rod and his sideshow. That's with just under $18M to spend, money that would also have to cover any bonuses, mid-season acquisitions, retention of 2014 free agents, and post-2014 arbitration offers. Hard to believe this is where they'd be after dropping Wells, Jeter, Kuroda, Soriano & Suzuki from the books while losing Gardner & Robertson to free agency.
Updating a post I made in the "under $189M" thread last week:
I'm assuming A-Rod's cap figure will be recalculated to account for this year's reduced payout, so here are the AAVs for players currently under contract for 2015:
$25.137 Rodriguez
$22.500 Teixeira
$24.400 Sabathia
$22.143 Tanaka
$21.857 Ellsbury
$17.000 McCann
$15.000 Beltran
$03.500 Thornton
$02.500 Ryan
Subtotal = $154.037M for just 9 players.
Add the estimated $17M for benefits/40-man/minors commitments, and it's $171.037M. Bear in mind that in 2015 and 2016, the MLB and minor league minimum salaries are subject to cost-of-living increases, which I haven't accounted for.
And they'll still have 16 spots to fill on the 25-man roster, or 17 if they decide to release A-Rod and his sideshow. That's with just under $18M to spend, money that would also have to cover any bonuses, mid-season acquisitions, retention of 2014 free agents, and post-2014 arbitration offers. Hard to believe this is where they'd be after dropping Wells, Jeter, Kuroda, Soriano & Suzuki from the books while losing Gardner & Robertson to free agency.
glennhoffmania said:
Why would anyone be nervous about giving huge money to a guy who threw 160 pitches in his last start?
Anyway, the money doesn't shock me as baseball in general and the Yankees specifically have money to burn. I am surprised about the willingness to give him an opt out. Given the Yankees track record, if he performs well, they will tack on for or five years to the deal after 4 years to guarantee to get his declining years.
I would give three-quarters of my left nut for this guy to turn into the next Hideki Irabu. I'd love to get more info on what the offers were, because I'd like to see how much of a threat the Dodgers have become to the Yankees at this point, and how much extra money the Dodgers may have forced the Yankees to pay. There's no doubt Tanaka has been incredible in Japan, but the track record for those pitchers coming over is mixed, and this contract is basically equating Tanaka to a top 5-10 MLB pitcher. Maybe he is, but maybe he's Dice-K. I will hope for Dice-K, minus the whole World Series game-winning hit thing.
Edit - JA addressed the doctor thing.
Edit - JA addressed the doctor thing.
mabrowndog said:
This is staggering. Don't forget to add in the inevitable Jeter extension at some point. I never again want to hear a Yankee fan tell me that teams like Boston, Philly and Detroit are in the Yankees' class when it comes to spending.
I know everyone else has responded, but I feel like I should respond -jon abbey said:
Maybe the opt-outs haven't "hurt" them. They are the Yankees and can afford just about every contract they've given out. But opt-outs present three poor options for the team - being stuck with the player if he sucks, losing the player if he's good, or giving out a larger contract to the player to keep him.
There's no good scenario. A-Rod walking in 2007 (at the time) would've been a huge blow to the team. As would Sabathia walking. As others have mentioned, they essentially had to sign them.
Rudy Pemberton said:
Absolutely. By normal standards his job is just utter chaos and dysfunction, but he it seems like he can just do whatever he wants as long as he allows for the meddling.
glennhoffmania said:
mabrowndog said:
TomRicardo said:
I imagine that the opt out includes language similar to what is in Cespedes's contract with A's, something along the lines that if he "opts out" the Yankees must agree to grant him unconditional release, making him a free agent.
No, it was Alfonzo. That joke was used when he lost out on Contreras as well, though, as it happened a week before.mabrowndog said:
The Contreras chair thing is one of those urban legends that doesn't seem to want to die out.
edit - and now that I'm at a computer I'll plug in a link:
http://a.espncdn.com/mlb/columns/klapisch_bob/1482819.html
The window and door thing was obviously an attempt to mock Theo as he was already portrayed as a sore loser after the Alfonzo incident at the winter meetings.
http://articles.courant.com/2002-12-18/sports/0212181026_1_theo-epstein-epstein-s-age-opryland-hotel
And even the chair thing was maybe just another needling of Theo by the NY press.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/29/sports/baseball-inside-baseball-red-sox-executive-stays-true-to-the-plan.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
It's an interesting rotation. If Sabathia regains his old form, if Tanaka is a legit MLB #1 or #2, if Kuroda pitches like he did in the first half of last season, and if Nova and Pineda stay healthy and tap into their potential, it could be a potent rotation. Tons of ifs there, but it's possible.Cowboys Idiots N Beards said:
Of course, it's also possible, perhaps even more so, that Sabathia continues to age, Kuroda is cooked as his second half of last season suggests, Tanaka won't be an MLB stud, and Nova and Pineda are either injured or overrated or both, in which case no, that rotation will scare no one except Yankee fans.
So they have an unproven guy, Declining Sabathia who's a year older, Nova who ended the year getting beat as if he dated Chris Brown, Kuroda who is 40 and also in a steep decline and a guy who's been a Yank for 2 years and yet to pitch an inning... Yeah, I'm good.
Almost all the posts in this thread are about the money. I just am not even sure how good he's going to be. Even when we play the if game, the Yankees need Sabathia to be at least close to an ace, something he was not last year. If Sabathia sucks, the rotation is going to need more help.
If the market says Tanaka is worth $175 million (including the posting fee) there is no way Garza is only worth $48 million.jon abbey said:
mt8thsw9th said:
Huh. Well, don't I feel like the idiot.
And yet, somehow, I don't feel nearly as stupid as the Yankee brain trust.
Does anybody not think they will go and sign another starter? You're over the 189 might as well go sign Garza or Ervin Santana now.crow216 said:
RedOctober3829 said:
Maybe they can do a Pineda for Cano swap now. They can throw in Ryan or Roberts as a sweetener.
jon abbey said:
That's the part that is most baffling to me. Cano truly is an elite player and he's an odd choice to let go if you're just going to turn around and abandon the hope of getting under the cap.
They've more than replaced his production, but they still have gaping holes. Which would be great if they achieved their financial goals. Not great if they aren't.
RedOctober3829 said:
Or Drew on a 1 year contract for 3B/SS?
If they stumble out of the gate with the "new team" it could be disastrous for them, in terms of marketing. Like you, I'm expecting more accusations, and like AV, I'm totally puzzled over the lottery ticket v. Cano choice.
crow216 said:
Nobody listened when I said they shouldn't have given as much guaranteed money to Clark.
Who's laughing now, jackasses?
In one sentence you summed up what's wrong with the Yankees' approach this offseason.jon abbey said:
Well done.
I'm glad the Yanks signed Tanaka. That means to me that in the long run Ben should respond by making the Sox even better.
I mentioned this in another thread, C.J. Nitkowski, a former Tigers pitcher who went over to Japan and played over there estimated that Tanaka was likely somewhere between a Matsuzaka and a Darvish in how he would do in MLB.
I honestly believe that about 2 years ago, some intern created a powerpoint and showed it to Hal that said "If all of our young players are awesome and you don't go crazy for at least 1 offseason, you can stay under $189m." Then the young players started to suck and they saw another powerpoint that said "We can stay under if we suck for a year." Then they saw tickets decline and an aloof fanbase and decided to throw it out the window.
They have holes at both positions. I'd think Drew would play 3rd if they signed him. Of course, do they give him a multi-year deal? He'd play 3rd this year then SS if/when Jeter retires.Brianish said:
Insanity. This front-office is on the verge of collapse. Nothing makes sense about what they've been doing this off-season.
I realize that money will win out in the end but if everything was equal, would you want to be the shortstop who takes the job from Jeter? Any out you make, idiot fans will convince themselves "Cap'n Jetes woulda got a hit dere!" or "Jetes would never a made dat erra!" never mind that he never would have got to the ball.Rovin Romine said:
Any word on what sort of chair Theo threw across the room?
Probably threw Clark across the room.
Probably threw Clark across the room.
In retrospect it does seem like they did choose Ellsbury over Cano. All this decision accomplished was pissing off Cano, and probably pushing Gardner out the free agency door. there is a lot of pressure to succeed on both Ellsbury and Tanaka. Looking forward to watching Jacoby face Boston and Cano face Tanaka.Average Reds said:
Doctor G said:
Well, at least they'll get the compensation pick to start rebuilding their farm system.