Tanaka aims to show fans he improved with Yanks
Pitcher returning to Japan though he feels he has some unfinished MLB business
Masahiro Tanaka is back in Japan and says he can’t wait to get started pitching for his former Japanese team — the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
The former New York Yankees pitcher signed a two-year contract earlier this week with his old Japanese club for a reported $9 million this season.
“I’m so excited,“Tanaka said Saturday, speaking with reporters at a Tokyo hotel where he modeled his No. 18 jersey. “I can’t hold back my excitement to get up on the mound and pitch in front of the Japanese baseball fans again.
“I also want to show them how much I have improved after seven years of being away from Japan.”
That will be tough. He was an incredible 24-0 in his last season in Japan.
The 32-year-old Tanaka was a free agent after seven seasons with the Yankees, and he said he wanted to stay in New York.
“To be honest, when I became a free agent I wanted to re-sign with the Yankees,“Tanaka said.
But he said his agent made it clear that was not going to happen.
“From that point, I thought about a lot of options, including going back to Japan. I thought about it over and over more than ever before.”
Tanaka pitched for Rakuten from 2007-13. In that final season, he was 24-0 with a 1.27 earned-run average as the Eagles won the Japan Series title.
He then signed a seven-year, $155 million contract with the Yankees ahead of the 2014 season and became a steadying, consistent presence in their rotation, going 78-46 with a 3.74 ERA.
He was an All-star in 2014 and 2019 despite pitching with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.
“It is a fact that I couldn’t win the World Series title and get the championship ring,” Tanaka said. “That had
been my goal, so I feel that I have work left undone in the major leagues.”
But he said he now wants to focus on Japanese baseball, adding that he hopes to play in the Tokyo Olympics if they are held.
Japanese baseball started late last season and eventually some games were played in front of 20,000 fans — all socially distanced and wearing masks in the stadiums.
Phillies: The Phillies and shortstop Didi Gregorius have agreed on a two-year, $28 million contract, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the deal is pending Gregorius passing a physical. Gregorius, who turns 31 next month, batted .284 with 10 homers, 40 RBIS and an .827 OPS in 60 games in his first season with the Phillies. Gregorius hit 16 homers and drove in 61 runs in 82 games for the Yankees in 2019 after Tommy John surgery on Oct. 17, 2018.
Blue Jays: Infielder Marcus Semien and Toronto completed their $18 million, one-year contract on Saturday. The 30-year-old had agreed to the deal Tuesday, subject to a successful physical. He joins a Blue Jays team that has been one of baseball’s few big spenders during the pandemic. Toronto previously added All-star outfielder George Springer for $150 million over six seasons and right-handers Kirby Yates ($5.5 million) and Tyler Chatwood ($3 million). The Blue Jays resigned left-hander Robbie Ray for $8 million.
Semien hit .223 with seven homers, 23 RBIS and .679 OPS in 53 games last season, his sixth with Oakland. He earned $4,814,815 in prorated pay from a $13 million salary. Semien finished third in AL MVP voting in 2019, when he hit 33 homers with 92 RBIS with an .892 OPS. Toronto went 32-28 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, finishing third in the AL East behind Tampa Bay and the Yankees and qualifying for the expanded postseason despite behind forced to play home games in Buffalo due to Canadian government restrictions on travel. It is not clear where the Blue Jays will play home games when the
2021 season starts.
White Sox: Chicago has agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract with pitcher Carlos Rodon, a person familiar with the negotiations said on Saturday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is subject to a successful physical. The White Sox nontendered Rodon last month, making him a free agent. But they didn’t rule out re-signing him. Rodon was selected by Chicago with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 amateur draft. He broke into the majors the following season and looked as if he could be a key member of the team’s rotation for years to come before he was hampered by a series of injuries. The 28-yearold is 29-33 with a 4.14 ERA in 97 career major league games. He made four appearances last year, going 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA.
Athletics: Oakland acquired left-hander Cole Irvin from Philadelphia for cash on Saturday. Irvin was 0-1 with a 17.18 ERA in three relief appearances last season. Irvin made his big league debut with the Phillies in 2019, going 2-1 with a 5.83 ERA.