Bidding battle begins for star Japanese pitcher Tanaka
A 30-day window for Major League Baseball clubs to make offers to Masahiro Tanaka, star pitcher for Japan Series champions Rakuten Eagles, has begun with several expected bidders.
A 30-day window for Major League Baseball clubs to make offers to Masahiro Tanaka, star pitcher for Japan Series champions Rakuten Eagles, has begun with several expected bidders.
Teams must bid a posting fee capped at US$20 million to the Eagles simply for the rights to negotiate with the 25-year-old Japanese right-hander, then spend the money to sign the Asian ace by January 24 ahead of February’s start of pre-season training for the 2014 season.
Only the team that eventually signs Tanaka, if any, would forfeit the US$20 million.
But thanks to a revamp of the posting system pushed by North American clubs this year and agreed upon by Japanese teams, the posting fee will not compare to the record sums above US$51 million obtained by Japanese clubs for the negotiating rights to Daisuke Matsuzaka and Yu Darvish in past years.
Tanaka went 24-0 for the Eagles this season with a 1.27 earned-run average. In 212 innings, he struck out 183 batters and walked only 32.
Tanaka, who has pitched for Japan in the World Baseball Classic in 2009 and 2013 as well as the 2008 Olympics, is 99-35 with a 2.30 earned-run average in seven Japan League campaigns.