He’s being posted and the team that signs a deal with him will have to cut a check to the Rakuten Golden Eagles for $20 million. Now Bob Nightengale is hearing about what Masahiro Tanaka’s salary might be expected to be:
Team officials involved in Tanaka sweepstakes say the Japanese star will cost a minimum of $17 million a year
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 27, 2013
I wonder how much of that is just doing the math on amortizing the $20 million posting fee over years and figuring that around a $20 million per year commitment is where teams want to max out. Figure a six year deal like Yu Darvish received + the posting and you’re just north of $20 million when it’s all said and done.
Of course, I feel like given how bad the pitching market is right now and how many teams there are who could really use an ace, that Tanaka is going to end up getting more.