How Bombers’ strategy, and $155M, helped lure phenom Tanaka to Bronx

In the end, of course, Tanaka had 155 million reasons to put on pinstripes and that’s why they probably are the winter winners in an offseason that has seen them also add Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann to a team that missed the playoffs last year for only the second time since 1995. (Cashman said the Yankees were the high bidder.)

And it’s also the reason the club will go over the $189 million threshold that would keep them from paying luxury tax in 2014. Club officials didn’t seem to mind, though; Cashman and several others all reiterated Wednesday they had called it only a “goal,” not a new way of Yankee life.

“This is an exclamation point that’s been made that our work was not complete or finished in terms of trying to put in a team that people could at least talk about having a shot to take a run at qualifying for the playoffs and playing into October,” Cashman said.

Cashman stopped short of calling Tanaka, who was 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last season for the Rakuten Golden Eagles, the Yanks’ ace, saying, “He is part of the rotation.”

Does he have ace qualities? “We’ll find out,” Cashman said. “He’s got a great deal of ability.

“He’s just gotten better and better and with the competition, playoffs or WBC (World Baseball Classic), it seemed like the bigger the game, the more he would step up,” Cashman added. “He would dial it up.

“One thing that has resonated is the competitive side of this particular player. He thrives on the biggest stage. That speaks to one of the reasons he chose us.”

Tanaka will be paid an average of $22.14 million over the length of the contract, which is the fifth-largest ever given to a pitcher. But he has an opt-out clause after the fourth season, which likely gives him leverage to seek even more cash if he thrives in pinstripes. He also has a full no-trade clause, a source said.

The Yankees also must pay a $20 million posting fee to Rakuten, which means that their commitment to Tanaka equals their highest bid for departed free agent Robinson Cano, who signed with the Mariners for $240 million over 10 years.

But the club also felt this expense was necessary to add a potential elite pitcher to its rotation, a weakness before Wednesday. It was also something that was easier to do because most of Alex Rodriguez’s money is off the books this season because of his suspension.

The Dodgers and Cubs were also in the sweepstakes until the end, a source said, out of a bigger group of teams that initially said they would commit $20 million per year for at least six years. The Diamondbacks, White Sox and Astros were also known to be interested in Tanaka, and Roger Clemens was part of the group that tried to convince the pitcher to go to Houston.

Tanaka and his agent, Casey Close, managed to convince clubs not to leak details of the process. It was so hushhush that Cashman said he was uncertain of where the Yankees stood until a late-night phone call Tuesday from Close.

“I was told after (talks) concluded that we were the highest and that it was very competitive and the other teams were in the vicinity of our team,” Cashman said. “That’s all I know.”

“He wanted to be a Yankee,” added a baseball official familiar with the deal.

The Yankees began scouting Tanaka in 2007, when he was only 18. They paid close attention at the 2009 WBC when Tanaka would be pitching with the same ball used in the majors against big-league hitters. They saw 15 of his starts this season and had a scout at each of his playoff games.

That due diligence is partly why the Yanks believe Tanaka won’t be another Hideki Irabu or Kei Igawa, who were pinstriped disappointments after coming over from Japan.

Scouts inside and outside their organization raved about Tanaka, though, so there are clearly high hopes. His splitfinger fastball, some say, might be the best in the world already.

“He’s got poise,” said an opposing talent evaluator. “He’s a competitor. All those things are good. He wanted to be in a major market.”

One possible red flag about Tanaka is the pitcher’s previous workload, and Cashman acknowledged some worry.

“You always have concerns,” the GM said. “That’s something you can’t ignore or deny. We’re willing to take the risk, despite acknowledging, yeah, there’s a workload there.”

T he Ya n kee s have d ra st ica l ly changed their club this winter, committing $471 million to nine free agents. The last time they spent nearly a half billion dollars — before the 2009 season, when they signed CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett — they won the next World Series.

With another big makeover now, they’ve got the same goal. Nothing’s guaranteed, with Tanaka or the team, though, and Cashman knows

it. “We’ve added talent and we’re e xcited by it,” Cashman said. “Hopefully, ever yone stays healthy a nd maximizes their potential and, if they do, we should feel good about the 2014 season and be in the midst of competing for something very special.”