Day 152

Fresh Start_152: The end of Tanaka Time
With the 2017 MLB vastly approaching, the Yankees have an interesting dilemma on their hands. At the end of the 2017 season their ace, Masahiro Tanaka can opt out of his 7-year $155 Million contract. The Bombers would owe him $22 Million a year for the next 3 years if he doesn’t opt out, but if the Yankees were smart, they would let him.

Tanaka will be turning 29 on November 1st of this year and having a pitcher that is pushing his 30’s is not the greatest thing to have on your ball club. Tanaka on top of that is still pitching with a tear in his UCL in his throwing shoulder. With that injury threat lingering over the heads of the Yankees, I would steer clear of resigning Tanaka if he opts out. If you ask why he would, it’s because the price of pitching is expensive and it always will be, there will be a team that will over pay for Tanaka and give the Yankees a compensation draft pick.

With that said, the Yanks don’t have a backup option for Tanaka’s exist on roster. With all that young pitching in the farm system, the last thing you want is to rush them. Luis Severino is a question for their rotation due to his numbers that he put up in the bullpen when he was recalled in September. Nathan Eovaldi will be back in 2018 after his Tommy John surgery, but that is just a faraway thought at the moment. Michael Pineda is extremely inconsistent and isn’t a reliable source in the rotation. C.C. is getting older and the Yanks will take what they can with the 36-year-old. With this ragtag rotation that Joe Girardi will put together only have to go at the most 7 innings to secure a victory with the pen that the Yankees have this season.

The Yankees will have to spend money on starting pitching next offseason, and not for younger talent. A lesser contract to an older guy will be better than overpaying Tanaka to stay a Bronx Bomber for another couple years. Regardless of a players’ likeliness, the game is a business and Brain Cashman will have to spend money to replace him. Even with that as for mentioned talent, there isn’t enough in the farm to replace Tanaka’s value. So to all the Yankee fans don’t get upset when the Bombers part ways with Tanaka this offseason, because look at it this way—do you really want another A-Rod? What I mean by that is an older player getting $25+ Million in his late 30’s, especially a pitcher. My dad has a rule about MLB pitchers that has become a golden rule of mine when talking about pitchers. That rule is; you don’t pay a pitcher entering his 30’s a multi-year contract. That is because the deal will blow up in your face more times than not. The Yankees are trying to rebuild and having an ace worthy pitcher deteriorate in front of their eyes while trying to rebuild is an unnecessary distraction that will get in the way. I personally love “Tanaka Time” but there is a time to part ways, and 2017 might be that year for Tanaka and the Yanks.
Sources:(bleacherreport.com,mlb.com, spotrac.com, mlbtraderumors.com)

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