December 26, 2013

Mets Will Not Pursue Tanaka

There was one bit of news over the Christmas holiday as its been learned that the Rakuten Golden Eagles will release their star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka through the new MLB posting system.  The 24 year old pitcher went 24-0 last season with a stingy 1.24 ERA.

At the bare minimum, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to post the $20 million dollar maximum needed to negotiate with Tanaka. Other clubs are also expected to be in the mix. The New York Mets however, are not expected to be in that group per a report by Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal. 

Projections have varied, but Tanaka is expected to receive contract offers exceeding $100 million dollars despite having never thrown a pitch in the majors.  Even if the Mets had the financial capabilities to bid on Tanaka, I expect this is not the type of risk Sandy Alderson would prefer to take, so this news shouldn't surprise anyone. 

1 comment:

  1. Cheap, Cheap, Cheap just like with Abreu being they were cluttered with so many good first baseman, I guess they feel they have a log jam of 24-0 starting pitchers with E.R.A.'s of 1.24 and the average age of 24?(where's Kefer
    Sutherland when you need him?) The Yankee's and Dodger's among other teams think he's worth the risk!! Ceap, Cheap, Cheap!!

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