The New York Yankees signed Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka on Thursday. Facing stiff competition, the Yankees apparently outbid at least five other seriously-interested teams and signed the 25-year-old to a $155 million contract.
Tanaka's agent confirmed deal to ESPN. The contract is worth $155 million over seven years and includes an opt-out clause after the fourth year. The Yankees must also pay a $20 million fee to Tanaka's Japanese team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, according to the Associated Press.
"We're going to do what we've got to do to win," Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner told the Associated Press in a telephone interview. "Anybody that questioned our commitment to winning is going to have to question themselves."
New York was prepared to outbid any of the other five teams pursuing the right-hander, according to the New York Times. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks were considered to be the Yankees' stiffest competition for Tanaka.
Although New York had competition, the team was expected go all-out and pay whatever necessary to sign Tanaka.
"...There is a feeling in some circles that the Yankees will not be outbid," David Waldstein of The Times wrote on Sunday. "One official with a National League team involved in the negotiations ... said his team believed that the Yankees would 'do what the Yankees do and bid more than any other team.'"
Tanaka became a hot name after he won the Japan Series title last season with the Golden Eagles. He finished the year with a 24-0 record and a 1.27 ERA.
Signing Tanaka pushes the Yankees more than $14 million over the tax threshold, but it strengthens the team's pitching rotation after losing Andy Pettitte to retirement.
