MLB free agency: Three possible destinations for Masahiro Tanaka

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 17: Masahiro Tanaka #19 of the New York Yankees in action against the Houston Astros in game four of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 17, 2019 in New York City. Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees 8-3. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Many teams will be interested in Masahiro Tanaka this offseason. Here are three likely landing spots.

Is this the end of the road for Masahiro Tanaka and his tenure with the New York Yankees? The now 32-year-old starting pitcher did not receive a qualifying offer from New York, making the right-handed pitcher a free agent, and likely a highly sought after one at that.

For the last seven seasons, Tanaka has been a reliable arm in the Yankees starting rotation, logging 1,054.1 innings across 173 starts in a New York Yankees uniform. He may have experienced a few more bumps in the road recently, but there’s no denying the impact Tanaka has had in New York since joining the organization.

Tanaka enters free agency with a career 78-46 record, a 3.74 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. He’s a two-time All-Star, a former Cy Young candidate, and may now be entering the down-side of his career, but still has plenty of quality innings left in his arm.

Maybe, the Yankees didn’t extend an $18.9 million qualifying offer to Tanaka because they believe they can retain him on a lower salary, or maybe both sides are ready to move on and Tanaka will enter 2021 putting on a jersey that isn’t a Yankees uniform for the first time in his career, since coming to the United States.

With free agency just now underway, we may found out soon, but in the meantime, here are three likely landing spots for Masahiro Tanaka in his free agency journey.

Masahiro Tanaka #19 of the New York Yankees heads back to the dugout against the Tampa Bay Rays during the second inning in Game Three of the American League Division Series at PETCO Park on October 07, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Despite not extending a Qualifying Offer to Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees could bring him back.

Let’s start with the most likely option, Tanaka returning to the New York Yankees. With the market looking as if it will shake out how many expected, the Yankees could bring Tanaka back on a two or three-year deal at a lower price tag than the $18.9 million qualifying offer.

MLBTradeRumors.com recently released their list of Top 50 free agents and projections and predicted Masahiro Tanaka to the Yankees on a three-year/$39 million deal, saving the organization a few dollars in 2021 and locking in their starter.

James Paxton and J.A. Happ are gone, leaving the Yankees with Gerrit Cole and a bunch of questions in their starting rotation as the offseason begins. A reliable 2-3 WAR pitcher slotted into the middle of the rotation is a solid first step at building a 2021 rotation.

The Yankees will surely be in on Trevor Bauer, as will most teams across baseball. After Marcus Stroman and Kevin Gausman (neither of which have been connected to the Yankees yet), there’s a big dropoff in terms of talent level in the free agent market.

Locking down Tanaka with one final notable contract for his final few seasons of quality production and solidifying next year’s rotation with a familiar and reliable arm would be a very smart move for the Yankees.

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