Masahiro Tanakaa is headed back to Japan with the 32-year old agreeing a 1 Year $7.7 million deal with the Rakuten eagles, after the Yankees decided to not give him the $15 million he was seeking, deciding to go the cheaper route, in an effort to stay under the $210 million luxury tax threshold. This marks the end of a seven year marriage, which saw Masa stabilize aa Yankees rotation, which badly needed retooling for most of his time here. Even after he took a backseat to the “ace” role, he showed some gritty performances, in the postseason, when the Yankees season mattered most, earning the nickname “Tanaka Time”. But while his tenure here unfortunately didn’t produce a World championship, it’s still worthwhile to see how he progressed, and regressed during his time in pinstripes.
2014:
Masahiro Tanaka made his debut in April, and got the win which was a sign of things to come, as the rookie sensation jumped out to an 11-1 in his first 13 starts, punching out 133 in 99IP with a 1.99 ERA, taking the city by storm. But just before the all-star break, which saw him make the all-star team, Masa was sidelined with a UCL injury, and wouldn’t return until September of that season. When Tanaka returned, he picked up where he left off at 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA, and finished the season 13-5 in 20 starts, with a 2.77 earned-run-avregae,and 141 strikeouts in 136.1 innings. The Yankees may have missed the playoffs at 84-78, in what was Derek Jeter’s final season, but they had also seemed to find their ace of the future.
2015:
As expected, Masa was the team ace to begin the season, but a forearm injury forced him to be sidelined soon after that. after a sophomore year, which showed a lot of promise, Tanaka regressed a bit going 12-7 with a 3.51 ERA in 24 starts, but still had the chance to prove he was the next ace of NY, if he could best Dallas Keuchel, and the Houston Astrios in the Al Wild Card Game at Yankee Stadium. In the end, he went 5 innings of two run ball, but it didn’t matter, as the Yankees offense was “Keuchl’d” in a season-ending 3-0 loss.
2016:
On August 2, Tanaka took a loss to the Mets, and then never lost again for the rest of the season, going 8-2 in the second half to finish with a 14-4 record in 31 starts, and 199.2 innings with 165 strikeouts, and an improved 3.07 ERA.
2017:
Welcome to the most bizzare year in the “Tanaka Time” era, as Masa went 13-12, with a career-worst 4.74 ERA in 30 starts. He walked 41 batters, allowed 35 homers(2 per nine innings) , and had 194 strikeouts(10 per nine innings) in 178.1 innings pitched. He was facing a lot of heat from the media, with analysts basically calling him a “bust”.
Luckily, the Yankees made the playoffs, and with their season on the line, and down2-0 in the ALDS to the Cleveland Indians, it was up to Masahiro Tanaka to keep the Bombers World Series dreams alive.
In his chance for redemption, he was sensational going 7 scoreless innings in a 1-0 Yankees victory, that began their improbable series comeback, which would see NY advance to the ALCS against the Astros.
The right-hander started game one in Houston, and despite going six innings of two run ball, took the loss to Keuchel 2-1. But in game five of the series, with it knotted at two, Tanaka carried over the vibes from a thrilling 6-4 Yankees game four win, and went seven scoreless innings again, leading his team to a 5-0 win, and one win away from the World Series.
Unfortunately though, with Masahiro watching from the dugout, the Yankees lost both games at Minute-Maid Park in Houston (7-1, 4-0), and watched as the later sighn-stealing Astros celebrated an American League pennant, before going onto best the Dodgers in seven games, in the World Series a couple weeks later.
In the offseason, Tanaka remained with the Yankees, deciding to stay under his original contract for three more years, at $67 million per season.
2018:
After a regular season, which saw Tanaka go 12-6 with a 3.75ERA in 27 starts over 156 innings pitched, Tanaka dazzled in his lone playoff start that season, picking up the game two ALDS win over the Red Sox, going 6 innings of 2 run ball. The Yankees would later in the series fall in four games, to the eventual champions.
2019:
Masa regressed again, going 11-9 with a 4.45ERA, but rebounded again in the postseason, going five innings of two run ball in a ALDS game two win over the Twins,keyingan eventual yankees sweep, before beginning the ALCS by going 6 scoreless in a 7-0 win against the Astros.
Later In the series, Tanaka finished an underwhelming year with a 5 inning, three run ball performance in a 8-3 game four loss, with the Yankees being put in a 3-1 hole, and then seeing their season end two nights later, when Jose Altuvie walked the Bombers off, with a blast off Aroldis Chapman.
2020:
The shortened season yielded a poor season for Tanaka, which saw his last start be a clunker, in an 8-3 game three ALDS loss to the Rays, with the Yankees season ending in game five two games later.
Personally, I remember after that Tanaka start, reflecting on his time with the Yankees with his impending free agency on the horizon. The eyes on the Yankees seemed to be dying out with. Jeter’s retirement, but the Japanese sensation made them stay, and tune in, with him embarking on a respectable seven year tenure with the Yankees. Overall, he was 78-46 with a 3.74ERA, in 173 starts, with seven complete games under his belt, and an ear-ear smile after each one. He pitched 1054.1 innings, showing toughness, and resilience as each one passed by. You knew what you were getting when Tanaka took the ball, and that was not only a pitcher of zeal for the game, but also was going to keep his team loose in the dugout, with his humor, but also not letting that overcome his competitiveness. Masahiro Tanaka did an amazing job connecting with fans, emotionally feeding off the raucous Yankee stadium crowds, especially when it came time for playoff baseball.
Bottom line, baseball is a business as well, and as value as Masa is to the organization, the two couldn’t find middle ground on an agreement due to the Yankees efforts to stay under the luxury tax, leading Tanaka to sign a 1 year $7.7 million deal with a team in Japan named the Rakuten Eagles.
Yankees personnel like David Cone, Gary Sanchez, Luis Cessa, and DJ LeMahieu expressed well-wishes to Tanaka over social media essentially saying they will miss his team presence, and calling him “A great player, and an even greater person.”
Hope isn’t lost for a Yankees return in 2022 though, as Tanaka’s contract expires after the 2021 season. Here’s to Tanaka only improving in Japan, and hitting the 2021 FA market better than ever.
Thank you Masa!
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