It’s Official: Masahiro Tanaka Returns to Rakuten Golden Eagles.
The Rakuten Golden Eagles made an official announcement about the return of pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. The 32-year old pitcher returns from New York where he spend seven years with the New York Yankees.
The 32-year old RHP has opted to return to Japan after the Yankees did not quite hurry to re-sign him. In fact they went another direction by trading for Jameson Taillon and signing Corey Kluber to a one-year contract.
In seven years with the Yankees, Tanaka posted a 78-46 record with a 3.74 ERA. Even though he was hit by the injury bug once in a while, Tanaka was very reliable.
The Rakuten Golden Eagles confirmed the signing with a tweet this morning.
In the seven years before he joined the Yankees, Tanaka flat out dominated the Pacific League, posting a 99-35 record with a 2.30 ERA. Especially his last season before being posted, he earned 24 wins and didn’t lose a game and had a 1.27 ERA. In that year, 2013, he was a big contributor to the Rakuten Eagles’ NPB championship.
The Golden Eagles signed Tanaka to a two-year contract, worth $17 million. Tanaka stated that he wanted to explain the reason why he returned to Japan in the upcoming press conference.
A statement from Masahiro Tanaka… "I've accepted a contract from the Rakuten Eagles. I'd like to explain what led to this decision to play in Japan at the press conference we have planned." https://t.co/FhjQDs9N94
— Jim Allen (@JballAllen) January 28, 2021
It is not clear yet when the press conference will be held.