The one and only Masahiro Tanaka posting and bidding thread

[Abomination]

I'm a little unclear on the process. Is it 30 days to collect all the bids and then the teams that post the 20M can negotiate with him, or can teams immediately post the 20M and start to negotiate but the window where teams can do so ends in 30 days? (ie, could he sign tomorrow if he chose to, or will the FA pitching market stay stagnant for at least another month)

[TBJ12]

I'm a little unclear on the process. Is it 30 days to collect all the bids and then the teams that post the 20M can negotiate with him, or can teams immediately post the 20M and start to negotiate but the window where teams can do so ends in 30 days? (ie, could he sign tomorrow if he chose to, or will the FA pitching market stay stagnant for at least another month)

 

I believe he must sign with a team by January 24th.

[Atothe]

I'm a little unclear on the process. Is it 30 days to collect all the bids and then the teams that post the 20M can negotiate with him, or can teams immediately post the 20M and start to negotiate but the window where teams can do so ends in 30 days? (ie, could he sign tomorrow if he chose to, or will the FA pitching market stay stagnant for at least another month)

 

i think its two weeks top, all offers come in by next and we will know by the following week

[BlueJayWay]

[Angrioter]

 

In other words. Today you could hear "Yankees and Tanaka reach an agreement 6Ys/102 Millions"

[xposbrad]

I'm a little unclear on the process. Is it 30 days to collect all the bids and then the teams that post the 20M can negotiate with him, or can teams immediately post the 20M and start to negotiate but the window where teams can do so ends in 30 days? (ie, could he sign tomorrow if he chose to, or will the FA pitching market stay stagnant for at least another month)

 

I think teams negotiate and then the 20m is paid seperately and it's understood that if you want to sign him that must be paid as part of the deal. So, you pretty much just negotiate a deal with his agent, then the 20m is done after he agrees to a deal with whichever team. From what I understand. He's going to the dodgers or yanks, so it doesn't make a difference really. lol

[Angrioter]

I think teams negotiate and then the 20m is paid seperately and it's understood that if you want to sign him that must be paid as part of the deal. So, you pretty much just negotiate a deal with his agent, then the 20m is done after he agrees to a deal with whichever team. From what I understand. He's going to the dodgers or yanks, so it doesn't make a difference really. lol

 

Yeah.

Another little thing. Th Greinke-Kershaw's agent is the Tanaka Agent.

[GeorgiaPeach]

The whole thing is dumb. With the posting fee he likely ends up costing around $50M more than the next best SP left on the market. If he goes for 6/100 plus the 20M posting fee, it's probably a smarter move to just sign Garza/Santana/Ubaldo for 5/75.

 

I like the idea of Tanaka, but the more I think about it, I can see AA pushing hard for one of the other 3 when it's all said and done.

 

As much as there's the risk of the unknown with Tanaka i'd rather the Jays pay the extra for a younger pitcher.

[admin]

They should just treat him like a FA, and 25% of the contract goes to the Japan team. Probably the easiest way to handle it.

[flafson]

Yeah.

Another little thing. Th Greinke-Kershaw's agent is the Tanaka Agent.

 

He's also the agent of Jeter and Teixeira, so it's either the Yankees or the Dodgers.

[ElNik2013]

I would think Tanaka will take up to a week to see who's interested and then separate the serious offers from the pretenders. I like the fact that he's 25 and this would be a way to replace Syndergaard, albeit an expensive way. They decided to play with the big boys so it's either Tanaka, Garza/Jimenez/Santana, trade more of the future for 2 years of Samardzija or stand pat. I lean heavily towards spending money. I also suspect that if they get Tanaka, they'd trade Happ and one of Santos/Janssen which could mean getting a 2B in return. At this point, I hope they at least get either a platoon partner for Lind or a better 2B option.

[RIPEXPOS]

I think Tanaka is the one player who could inspire this fanbase again, and get fans excited and back in the seats.

 

Signing him would create a stir, period. I think it would be money well spent for Rogers, assuming he can make a Darvish like impact.

[Cooler Heads Prevail]

For the Jays to make the playoffs they need to have a top 5 pitching staff in team ERA and they need to finish ahead of at least 3 AL East teams. Assuming the bullpen is as good as it was last year and Dickey and Beuhrle are as good as they are last year - I am not sure how ONE starter is going to improve us from something like 12th to 4th.

 

This team needs a rotation that is better than all or all but one of NY, BOS, TB, and BAL. A rotation of Tanaka, Dickey, Beuhrle, (Morrow for 10 starts until his arm blows up), Happ and Rogers.

 

Where does that rank exactly? Even with Tanaka it's not enough. Out of Tanaka, Garza, Santana, Jiminez the Jays would need TWO of those to have a credible starting rotation and Morrow slotting in the fifth spot with Happ the long man to step in when Morrow is gone by the 110 innings pitched mark. Maybe Hutchison - but maybe not and he ain't coming back after TJS to give us 200 innings. Garza is nice an all but also injury prone and would be my dead last pick out of the four.

 

And the only guy everyone is high on is Tanaka but reports are he doesn't miss bats and won't against MLB hitters. He'll likely be a number 3. $20million a year for a number 3 seems high to me and we already have such a pitcher in Beuhrle. Jiminez is an ex CY Young winner with big K numbers but also walks everyone and Santana - uggh I'd rather the guitar player to do the anthems each game.

 

I'd stand pat - do nothing and wait till next year - by then Stroman will be entrenched in the rotation, Beurhle and Dickey will probably still be fine - their stuf doesn;t kill their arms. Maybe Hutchison has bounced back and that leaves one spot to get one pitcher.

 

Dozens of posts try to evaluate 2014 pitching staffs based on 2013 results. In fact, starting pitching isn't that reliable. Individual performance varies wildly and hence team performance does as well. The 2012 year for Boston and Cleveland showed no hint of an improved 2013, unless you think Dempster was meaningful etc etc. And Toronto's starting staff looked very solid. In contrast, Toronto's 2012 staff looked weak but before the injuries hit they had one of the best starting pitching squads in the majors ( Morrow was on his way to Cy Young contention, Hutch looked liked a keeper, tons of complete games pitched ).

 

My point is who knows what 2014 will bring, I suspect upside surprises from Stroman, maybe Morrow, maybe Hutch. Adding one solid starter who eats up innings and is no worse then a #3 roughly would help our chances immensely. If Tanaka was better then that our pitching ceiling is quite high. Given the lack of quality pitchers in the free agent market and the market prices, acquiring none of them is not the worst strategy as you say.

[Abomination]

I think it would be money well spent for Rogers, assuming he can make a Darvish like impact.

 

That's something that shouldn't be expected. A lot of evaluators seemed to feel he would be a #3 starter with possible #2 upside, but he's not Darvish.

[saskjayfan]

That's something that shouldn't be expected. A lot of evaluators seemed to feel he would be a #3 starter with possible #2 upside, but he's not Darvish.

 

Tanaka does not have plus velocity.....so many say his talents won't translate to the mlb. I really enjoy this scenario because there are much more limited statistical numbers to go on...there have been a few Japanese pitchers come to the mlb, but not a statistically significant number. You're not comparing his minor league stats to other minor leaguers around him...there are no mlb stats to go on...you're judging talent...velocity movement command....and you have people who will say he's a number 1 and people who say he's a number 5 and everything in between...

[TheHurl]

In contrast, Toronto's 2012 staff looked weak but before the injuries hit they had one of the best starting pitching squads in the majors ( Morrow was on his way to Cy Young contention, Hutch looked liked a keeper, tons of complete games pitched ).

 

Jays starters rank in the first half in 2012 - 28th

Jays starters rank in March/April in 2012 - 29th

[RIPEXPOS]

Tanaka does not have plus velocity.....so many say his talents won't translate to the mlb. I really enjoy this scenario because there are much more limited statistical numbers to go on...there have been a few Japanese pitchers come to the mlb, but not a statistically significant number. You're not comparing his minor league stats to other minor leaguers around him...there are no mlb stats to go on...you're judging talent...velocity movement command....and you have people who will say he's a number 1 and people who say he's a number 5 and everything in between...

 

The tape I've seen of Tanaka, I recall him consistantly being in the 91-93 range with his fastball. That's plenty of fastball, especially for a guy noted to have pinpoint command. He was even more dominant than Darvish was in Japan. I'm not going to say I know he can be Darvish, but every piece of legitimate info I've got him says to me he will be a Darvish level of pitcher, a true top of the rotation starter.

[TheHurl]

Tanaka does not have plus velocity.....so many say his talents won't translate to the mlb. I really enjoy this scenario because there are much more limited statistical numbers to go on...there have been a few Japanese pitchers come to the mlb, but not a statistically significant number. You're not comparing his minor league stats to other minor leaguers around him...there are no mlb stats to go on...you're judging talent...velocity movement command....and you have people who will say he's a number 1 and people who say he's a number 5 and everything in between...

 

no one knows is true. But the best comparison is someone that was in the exact same scenario. He played on the same team as Iwakuma.

 

2007-2011

Iwakuma (age 26 to 30) 780 IP, 725 Hits, 157BB, 607K's, 2.67 ERA 3.86 K/BB ratio, 1.13 WHIP

 

2007 - 2013

Tanaka (age 18 to 24) 1315 IP, 1182 Hits, 275BB, 1238K's, 2.30 ERA 4.50 K/BB ratio, 1.10 WHIP

 

Same park, same team behind them (except for 2012 and 2013). Worst case scenario is that Tanaka compares better than a top 20 pitcher. Give him an adjustment year and depending on health he'll be a top 25 guy.

[TheHurl]

BA's game reports from Tanaka's game when Badler spent a month there this year

 

The Game

 

Sept. 13: Rakuten Eagles 6, Orix Buffaloes 2

 

Pitching against the worst offense in Nippon Professional Baseball, Eagles 24-year-old righthander Masahiro Tanaka faced little trouble and overcame shoddy defense behind him to record his eighth complete game of the season. According to Japanese media outlet “Sanspo,” the Yankees, Red Sox and Diamondbacks were among the teams with scouts in attendance.

 

With the NPB season ending on Oct. 8 and Rakuten comfortably in first place in the Pacific League, Tanaka likely has three regular-season starts remaining before the playoffs.

 

Tanaka’s Line

 

9 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 125 pitches

 

Season Stats

 

24 G, 24 GS, 21-0, 1.23 ERA, 190 IP, 152 H, 27 BB, 163 SO

 

Game Report

 

Tanaka touched 96 mph and recorded the majority of his strikeouts on his fastball, but this start was more notable for how often he went to his offspeed pitches and tried to attack hitters backwards, or at least how major league scouts refer to pitching backwards.

 

Tanaka sat at 89-94 mph most of the game, mostly throwing his four-seam fastball but with a heavier dose than usual of his two-seamer, along with a handful of pitches at 89-91 mph that looked like cut fastballs.

 

Five of Tanaka’s eight strikeouts came on his fastball, including four swinging strikeouts. He painted the corner down and away with his fastball several times even when he reached back for 94-95 mph, but he relied heavily on his offspeed stuff early in the count. Of the 35 batters he faced, Tanaka started just 14 of them with a fastball.

 

The most effective offspeed pitch for Tanaka, as usual, was his splitter, which was devastating at times. Tanaka threw several outstanding splitters at 84-88 mph with hard, late action that started at the thighs and tumbled below the knees. He used his splitter 27 times and got swings and misses on 10 of them (a 37 percent whiff rate), including three swinging strikeouts.

 

Tanaka’s No. 3 pitch is his 83-85 mph slider, which he went to frequently for an early-count strike. What’s more surprising is how often Tanaka used his curveball. Tanaka’s 71-76 mph curve is mostly a show-me pitch to give hitters a different look, something he usually mixes in only a few times per game. Against the Buffaloes, Tanaka threw 14 curveballs, which is well out of the ordinary for him.

 

After throwing a complete-game victory, Tanaka said in his postgame interview that he was frustrated because he didn’t throw a shutout. Given the way he pitched, he probably could have had one if his defense and luck had been better.

 

Facing the lefthanded-hitting Takuya Hara with a 5-0 lead and one out in the top of the seventh, Tanaka threw Hara a 90-mph two-seamer down and in. Even though Tanaka missed his catcher’s target low and away, it ended up being a good pitch anyway to induce a groundball, but it bounced off the first baseman’s glove and into right field for a generous single.

 

Hikaru Ito followed with a routine groundball that shortstop Kaz Matsui (yes, that Kaz Matsui) didn’t have the range to his right to get to and snuck into left field to put runners on first and second.

 

Tanaka nearly escaped unscathed one batter later by charging a groundball toward the third base side, making an athletic play to field, turn and fire a strike to second base to get the out there, but the batter beat the throw to first to avoid the inning-ending double play. Keiichi Hirano then lined a single to center field to drive in the first Buffaloes run, with Ito getting thrown out at third to end the inning.

 

The only other run Tanaka allowed came in the ninth, when his defense again came up short. After striking out the first batter of the inning, Tanaka threw an 85-mph slider that broke the bat of Aaron Baldiris for a fly ball to shallow left field. Left fielder Hiroaki Shimauchi charged the ball, slid and had plenty of time to make the catch, but it bounced off his glove, he injured his wrist and Baldiris went to second with a charitable double.

 

Poor luck and defense plagued Tanaka against the next batter, who hit a groundball single through the right side of the infield that could have been handled by the first baseman, who instead backed off the ball at the last moment. He ended up shielding the vision of the second baseman, who slowed down and allowed the ball to get into right field. That would have set up runners at first and third, but the right fielder bobbled the ball and allowed Baldiris to score from second.

 

Tanaka got out of trouble with a two-seam fastball to the next hitter, who hit a groundball to the third baseman for the game-ending double play.

[TheHurl]

The Game

 

Sept. 6: Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 3, Nippon Ham Fighters 2

 

Righthander Masahiro Tanaka helped the Eagles retain their stronghold on first place in the Pacific League and maintained his Nippon Professional Baseball lead in ERA (1.24) en route to what will likely be his second Sawamura Award, the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young. According to Japanese media outlet Sponichi, the Braves, Diamondbacks, Mariners, Red Sox and Yankees were among the teams with scouts in attendance.

 

Tanaka’s Line

 

9 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 SO, 128 pitches

 

Season Stats

 

20-0, 1.24 ERA, 23 G, 23 GS, 181 IP, 142 H, 6 HR, 27 BB, 156 SO

 

Game Report

 

After lacking the typical crispness on his pitches in his previous outing, Tanaka returned to the mound on Friday with a swing-and-miss fastball and excellent splitter against the Fighters.

 

Tanaka generally pitched off his fastball, which parked at 90-94 mph for most of the game. The majority of Tanaka’s strikeouts came on his fastball, which he ramped up to 93-96 in the ninth inning to preserve the Eagles’ one-run lead.

 

Eight of Tanaka’s 11 strikeouts were swinging, with most of those swing-throughs coming on his fastball rather than his splitter, which is typically his out pitch. While just two of Tanaka’s strikeouts came on his 84-89 mph splitter (including a called strike three to end the game), it was also a swing-and-miss pitch that had much sharper movement than his last outing. Tanaka’s splitter had its usual plus-plus diving action when he threw it well, and the best the Fighters could do against Tanaka’s splitter was foul it off or hit it into the ground.

 

Tanaka’s slider was a solid third pitch at times, although it did get him into some trouble when he left it up in the zone. Facing Michel Abreu in the second inning, Tanaka got behind the Pacific League home run leader 2-0 with a pair of sliders that missed away. Tanaka came back with a third slider that hung up in the zone out over the plate, allowing Abreu to extend his arms and smash it for a home run.

 

Three consecutive base hits allowed the second run to score in the fourth inning, but otherwise Tanaka didn’t run into much trouble the rest of the game.

[TheHurl]

The Game

 

Aug. 30: Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 11, Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 6

 

Tanaka faced the team leading Nippon Professional Baseball in runs per game, but even without his sharpest stuff he was able to rattle off five straight scoreless innings before getting tagged for three runs in his final two frames. Bryan LaHair and Wily Mo Pena, the Hawks’ two most notable imports, weren’t in the lineup, although neither one has been a major contributor to their offense this season. Tanaka maintained his NPB lead in ERA, while his strikeouts and innings rank second in Japan.

 

Tanaka’s Line

 

7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 102 pitches

 

Season Stats

 

19-0, 1.20 ERA, 20 G, 20 GS, 172 IP, 135 H, 5 HR, 25 BB, 145 SO

 

Game Report

 

Tanaka’s fastball sat in the low-90s, ranging from 89-94 mph for most of the game and topping out at 95. Some scouts have pegged his splitter as high as a 70 pitch on the 20-80 scale, but Tanaka’s 85-88 mph splitter wasn’t as sharp as usual against the Hawks. In his previous start against the Marines, Tanaka’s splitter was a putaway pitch with devastating late tumble, but in Fukuoka the pitch lacked its usual wipeout drop.

 

Instead of going to his splitter, Tanaka leaned more on his fastball and his slider. Four of Tanaka’s strikeouts came on his fastball (all swinging). The other two strikeouts—both against righthanded hitters—came on his 81-86 mph slider, one looking on the outside corner, the other swinging on a pitch that broke down and away off the plate. Scouts have called his slider a plus pitch, and at times during the game it was easy to see why. Yet Tanaka was also prone to hanging his slider, and when he did, the Hawks made him pay.

 

“My form wasn’t good at all tonight, so I have my teammates to thank,” Tanaka told The Japan Times. “I had a tough time out there, so it’s a good thing we won.”

 

Tanaka is known for putting it in cruise control against the lesser hitters in a lineup to be able to pitch deeper in the game, saving his best stuff for the best hitters and high-leverage situations. Given the lineups he’s facing, it’s a strategy that makes sense, and it was apparent he wasn’t going all out against the Hawks. That doesn’t explain why his splitter wasn’t as crisp as usual, but it’s relevant that his offense gave him a 7-0 lead before he stepped on the mound for the second inning, and he didn’t give up his first runs until he was already staked to a 9-0 lead.

 

Those first two runs scored in the bottom of the sixth. After striking out the first hitter of the inning swinging on a 92-mph fastball, Tanaka got to a 1-2 count against lefthanded hitting Akira Nakamura, the Hawks’ leadoff hitter who ranks second in the Pacific League in OBP. Tanaka threw him a 94 mph fastball but left it out over middle of the plate, and Nakamura kept his hands inside the ball to slap it to center field for a single.

 

Tanaka then got ahead of the righthanded-hitting Kenta Imamiya 0-2, but he left a belt-high fastball on the outer half that Imamiya lined to the opposite field for a single. Tanaka struck out righthanded-hitting Seiichi Uchikawa (sixth in the Pacific League in OPS) swinging with an 86-mph slider, but he couldn’t escape unscathed. Tanaka’s first pitch to the lefthanded-hitting Yuki Yanagita was a hanging slider, which Yanagita crushed for a double to bring home both runners. With damage done and a runner in scoring position, Tanaka geared up for the next hitter, firing fastballs at 94-95 mph the whole at-bat to get out of the inning with a strikeout.

 

Tanaka gave up another run in the seventh, when he started the inning by hanging a slider at the letters to Nobuhiro Matsuda, who smoked it to left field for a leadoff double, then advanced to third on a passed ball before Tanaka walked the next batter with a 3-2 fastball to put runners at the corners with no outs. Tanaka induced a groundball double play to clear the bases, scoring Matsuda.

 

After getting to 0-2 against the next hitter, Tanaka threw a splitter that caught too much of the plate and didn’t drop hard enough, staying at thigh level before getting whacked for a double to the left-center field gap. Tanaka showed his frustration at his inability to execute his pitch, yelling at himself on the mound after giving up the double. But he got out of the inning against the next batter by fielding his position well on a high chopper between the third base line and the pitcher’s mound, with some help from his first baseman on a nice scoop of Tanaka’s one-hopper.

 

The Hawks were able to hit Tanaka hard when he left his stuff up in the zone, whether it was the fastball, splitter or the slider. If Tanaka had faced a major league lineup, his outing likely would have been shorter, but all major league pitchers have games like that. If a scout was watching Tanaka for the first time, it’s unlikely he’d project Tanaka as a frontline starter based off this look—and it’s not like he really got hit around that much—but this start was more of an aberration than the norm for Tanaka this season.

[TheHurl]

Japanese righthander Masahiro Tanaka has drawn a heavy scouting contingent at his starts, with teams expecting Rakuten to put the 24-year-old into the posting system for a jump to Major League Baseball after this season.

 

In 2011, Tanaka won the Sawamura Award—Japan’s version of the Cy Young—and he will likely win another one this season. Tanaka will get a lot of attention for his 18-0 record in 21 starts, but the more meaningful numbers are stellar as well, with the best ERA (1.15) among Nippon Professional Baseball starters, 138 strikeouts (second in NPB) and 23 walks in 165 innings.

 

Here are notes from Tanaka’s most recent start:

 

The Game

 

Friday, Aug. 23: Rakuten Eagles 5, Chiba Lotte Marines 0

 

Tanaka’s Line

 

7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 HBP, 1 BB, 8 SO, 116 pitches

 

The Report

 

Tanaka’s fastball ranged from 91-95 in the first inning, mostly toward the upper end of that range. After relying on his four-steam fastball the first, Tanaka mixed in a two-seamer the rest of the way, cruising at 88-93 mph.

 

When Tanaka got into a jam in the sixth inning with runners on second and third and two outs, he showed he still had his top-end velocity available. Kazuya Fukuura, a lefthanded hitter, swung through a 95-mph fastball up and in, then laid off another 95-mph fastball in the same spot to even the count 1-1. Tanaka finished Fukuura by getting him to swing through the next two pitches—an 89-mph splitter that started at the belt on the inside corner before falling off the table, followed by a 97-mph fastball on his 108th pitch of the game.

 

Tanaka has arguably the best splitter in the world, which is partly because so few pitchers in MLB throw the pitch. Of his eight strikeouts, six of them came on the splitter, with five of Tanaka’s victims swinging over the pitch, which generally registered around 86-89 mph.

 

Scouts who have followed Tanaka note that he sinks on the backside of his delivery, which causes his fastball to come in on a flatter plane and makes it a more hittable pitch than the pure velocity would suggest. But Tanaka’s splitter is difficult for hitters to distinguish from his fastball, with hard, late tumble that makes it a true putaway pitch. It comes out of his hand looking like a juicy fastball at thigh level, then drops hard out of the bottom of the strike zone. Some of the splitters he threw against the Marines were pitches even the best major league hitters would have been lucky just to foul off, so it’s easy to see why some scouts call it a 70 pitch on the 20-80 scale.

 

Tanaka threw an 82-85 mph slider, which scouts say can be a plus pitch, although his splitter was his go-to out pitch against the Marines. He also mixed in a few 72-76 mph curveballs, mostly early in the count trying to throw it in the zone to give batters a different look.

 

While Tanaka worked seven scoreless innings, he did have to escape from danger on a few occasions. When Tanaka got into trouble, it was mostly because he left his slider up in the zone or had trouble locating his fastball. Even on the inning-ending strikeout in the sixth inning, Tanaka’s first two 95-mph fastballs went high and inside with the catcher set up down and away.

 

More advanced hitters might have made him pay for some of those command mistakes, but Tanaka’s control is one of his strengths. When he did get runners in scoring position, Tanaka had the extra gear to get out of the inning unscathed, something scouts have said they’ve seen him do consistently.

[RIPEXPOS]

Darvish wasn't a sure thing coming over either. While everyone knew he was as filthy as they get, it was always noted that he doesn't have the best command, he got alot of favourable calls in Japan, and there were concerns over his ability to consistently throw strikes.

 

Obviously to this point, Darvish has been able to compensate for mediocre command with his fantastic stuff, and has emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball.

 

Tanaka admittedly has a different question, and that question is in regards to his fastball. Obviously he has yet to prove it like Darvish has, but coming over, he's the same caliber of prospect as Darvish was. Darvish had ridiculous upside because of his out of this world stuff. Tanaka has ridiculous upside because he can be the starter version of Koji Uehara. Different players (Darvish and Tanaka), but everything points to them being the same caliber of prospect.

[Angrioter]

I'm a bit surprised at how may teams wouldn't bat an eye at a 120/5 commitment for Tanaka. At that rate he needs to average about 3 WAR per season for the team to break even on the contract. To me it isn't clear that he's that kind of talent.

 

6Ys/102M + 20M bid >> Trade Stroman/Sanchez for Samardzija

[Angrioter]

That's probably true, but not necessarily. If Tanaka is below-average, which is obviously possible, We're better off building a package around one of Sanchez/Stroman and trading for a starter. It's the team's responsibility to correctly make this call - I don't think many people here are informed enough about Tanaka to know which option is preferable.

Choose your poison

A - Tanaka 6Ys/102M + 20M bid

B- Trade Sanchez, Norris, Matt Dean and Sierra for Samardzija and then extend him 5Ys/75M

[saskjayfan]

Choose your poison

A - Tanaka 6Ys/102M + 20M bid

B- Trade Sanchez, Norris, Matt Dean and Sierra for Samardzija and then extend him 5Ys/75M

 

I personally like the gamble on Tanaka, but the jays seem to be cursed....if they somehow got him here he would come and do terrible....any other place and he'll be a to 20 pitcher..lol. The Jays can't really afford to spend 20 mil per for 6 years and make a mistake....but I'm not so sure Tanaka would be a mistake...great command...and you keep all your young assets to develop.

[GeorgiaPeach]

Choose your poison

A - Tanaka 6Ys/102M + 20M bid

B- Trade Sanchez, Norris, Matt Dean and Sierra for Samardzija and then extend him 5Ys/75M

 

Please no on the going after Samardzija. No one else is offering anything in the vicinity of that so why overpay?

[Anemic0ffense]

The "all-in" off season last winter makes even less sense if this team stands pat this winter, which they've virtually done thus far this off-season. Taking a gamble on Tanaka will at least keep excitement in Toronto high. Maybe not as high as last winter, but people are at the point where they don't give a s*** anymore. They pretty much need to make a splash at this point, even if it's a bit of an overpay.

[kgm1]

That's probably true, but not necessarily. If Tanaka is below-average, which is obviously possible, We're better off building a package around one of Sanchez/Stroman and trading for a starter. It's the team's responsibility to correctly make this call - I don't think many people here are informed enough about Tanaka to know which option is preferable.

 

From everything I have heard on MLB radio the scouts think Tanaka is the best available starter . Better than Garza but not as good as Darvish .

 

That said I give it about a 1% chance the Jays sign him . Might even be less than that . Several reasons . but the main being why would he pitch here when he will have similar $$$ offered by several other teams he would rather win with . I think the Mariners will be all over this even with JZ stating they are close to budget . Yankees want him bad and the Cubs so why pitch in toronto . Also I think with the NHL deal Rogers is less focused on the Jays . They have their content . They went into panic mode with the strike and now just don't need the content so expect the budget to go down . Then there is the value thing plus AA did not scout him . Every international FA before AA has scouted .

 

imght as well go out and buy a lottery ticket as your odds would be better. As for a trade , If AA trades both Stroman and Sanchez he should be fired .

[TheHurl]

Choose your poison

A - Tanaka 6Ys/102M + 20M bid

B- Trade Sanchez, Norris, Matt Dean and Sierra for Samardzija and then extend him 5Ys/75M

 

Option C - give Stroman and Hutch a full chance to prove they can do it and maybe secure some positive value before taking some chances on high performance positive value.