Masahiro Tanaka is hitting the ground running.
Tanaka is expected to meet with a dozen or so Major League Baseball teams by Friday in Los Angeles, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. The New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks reportedly are among the teams with meetings set, although none of those clubs have made an official announcement regarding such.
Heyman reports that the Blue Jays also have contacted Tanaka’s camp, but it’s unclear whether the Japanese hurler has scheduled a visit with Toronto. According to reports, the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers have expressed interest in Tanaka, too, so the bidding could be intense. Tanaka, who has been posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, is expected to command a nine-figure contract in addition to the $20 million posting fee that his signing team must pay his Japanese club.
Tanaka will be seen by a Los Angeles doctor this week to provide a medical update for all interested teams, according to Heyman. The right-hander is just 25 years old, but he already has had a heavy workload throughout his seven-year career in Japan.
Tanaka went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA in 28 appearances (27 starts) with Rakuten in 2013.
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Photo via Facebook/Masahiro Tanaka
