Who Is Masahiro Tanaka?

If you've been paying attention to the baseball offseason, you've probably heard the name Masahiro Tanaka come up. What you may not know is who exactly that is? Japanese Emperor? Latest character in a popular anime cartoon? No, the correct answer is he's the most recent hyped Japanese pitcher. Before we go further, let's get a few things out of the way: No, he does not throw a 'gyroball', no he will not throw 200 pitches in a game, and no he cannot morph into a dragon and start spitting fire at batters. So, what's all the fuss about?

Tanaka is a 25 year old starting pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball league. Tanaka is eligible for international free agency via the posting system that brought Daisuke Matsuzaka and most recently Yu Darvish to America to play ball. The posting system requires teams to submit a bid for the right to negotiate with the player, and then they must come to terms within an alotted time frame. You may remember the Red Sox winning bid for Matsuzaka in 2006 was $51.11 million, and the club would then shell out another $52 million for a six year contract. Darvish was posted in 2011 and the winning bid presented by the Rangers amounted to $51.7 million, and they proceeded to ink Darvish to a $60 million 6 year contract. Current estimates are that the winning bid for Tanaka could reach upwards of $70-$75 million, and he  expects to command a deal in excess of the $60 million Darvish received. 

So who is Tanaka more likely to take after, Matsuzaka or Darvish? Matsuzaka was a top draft pick into the NPB out of high school, and had a successful career in the league. His career numbers are a 108-60 record, 2.95 ERA, with 1,355 strikeouts. What drove Matsuzaka fever through the roof in 2006 was his dominating MVP performance in the World Baseball Classic. Matsuzaka had a good year in 2008 for Boston but participated again in the WBC the following year and never seemed the same. Darvish was received with similar fanfare, being hailed as the best in Japan at the time. His NPB career stats include a 93-38 record, 1.99 ERA, and 1,259 strikeouts. He was clearly a dominating pitcher there, and so far has displayed much of the same talent here. 

The signings by teams of these Japanese stars are dangerous to say the least. There has been several cautionary tales: see Hideki Irabu (RIP) and Kei Igawa. Irabu was famously referred to as a "fat toad" by George Steinbrenner on his way to a career 34-35 record and 5.15 ERA. Igawa represented a huge waste of money by the Yankees as they paid over $46 million to retain his services, which ultimately was a career 6.66 ERA. So while pursuing Tanaka is a gamble, here are the facts we do know:

 -Tanaka was rookie of the year in 2007 and hasn't slowed down since

-Tanaka's career stats: 99-35 2.30 ERA 1,238 strikeouts. This puts him somewhere between Darvish and Matsuzaka

- he finished 2013 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA

- In 5 playoff starts he threw 4 complete games, including a 160 pitch effort in game 6 of the championship series, then came back to get the save in game 7.

This last feat is what should cause teams to think twice prior to making such a big commitment to the Japanese star. There is a lot of fear he could breakdown much in the mold of Matsuzaka before him. Nonetheless there will be a handful of teams lining up to submit a bid when the time comes. Expect the usual big players to get involved: Dodgers, Yankees. Also the Rangers and Angels will likely make some kind of play.  

GM Meetings Underway

All of baseballs general managers and top executives are convening in Orlando this week for the annual general manager and owners meetings. The main purpose of the meetings is to discuss hot topics like rule changes, but journalists and baseball nerds alike salivate over the meetings as it represents the metaphorical kindling of the hot stove. Though deals are not often consummated at this time, the grumblings will begin as GM's meet with one another to gauge trade possibilities, and may also have preliminary conversations with players and their agents. If you're a baseball nut who says you aren't constantly checking trade rumors or looking to see who is being reported as the likely landing place of the top free agent, then you are a liar. Here's a rundown of some of the current news coming out of Orlando:

The biggest rumor to surface is a blockbuster trade between the Cardinals and the Rockies that would send shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to the defending  NL champs. It's no secret that the Cardinals have been without a quality shortstop that's not an offensive liability for years. Here's a list of who logged the most games at the position for thesst 5 years: Pete Kozma .217/.275/.273; Rafael Furcal .264/.325/.346; Ryan Theriot .271/.321/.342; Brendan Ryan .223/.279/.294; Ryan in '09 had a respectable .292/.340/.400 and could be cited as the last semblance of production out of a shortstop. 

The cardinals do have a plethora of young talent which they are willing to part with for the right piece. They especially have multiple young pitchers as documented during the World Series. Though Michael Wacha is probably off the table, Shelby Miller could be considered, perhaps in a package with Matt Adams. Moving Tulowitzki will be a chore given his 7 remaining years and $134 million remaining, even if he is the best shortstop in baseball. Expect the Cardinals to also kick the tires on the Rangers interest in moving Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar.

Tim Hudson seems to be the most popular starting pitching target on the open market right now. Being that he doesn't require a draft pick forfeited upon signing and that he won't command more than a 2 year deal, his services are more attractive than other options currently. Teams that are reported as showing early interest are the Orioles, Red Sox, Giants, Rockies, Rangers, Athletics, Indians and Royals. 

Most experts agree that the Rays are going to move David Price this offseason, as they believe they will get the most value for him now. This follows the precedent of the Tampa Bay organization with their top players as they approach their later arbitration years. Price is expected to receive a couple more generous increases before reaching free agency in 2 years. The Rays will look for a move much like they found for James Shields where they netted Wil Meyers, the AL rookie of the year in return. Nothing has materialized to this point, and so it is anyone's guess as to where Price suits up next season.

There are a lot of questions regarding Masahiro Tanaka who is expected to me made available through the Japanese posting system. Not much is known about the pitcher himself, but early projections have the posting fee reaching $75 million. This you will remember is just for the right to negotiate with the player. He may require another $70 million on top of that in order to sign. 

The Twins have announced plans for Joe Mauer next season in which he will be playing 1st base full time. Not coincidentally, the Twins have popped up as a rumored destination for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Saltalamacchia negotiations will likely eventually price out the Twins, forcing them to look instead towards the short term stop gap pieces that are available, such as A.J. Pierzynski and Carlos Ruiz.

The Mets are making SS their top priority, and naturally are eyeing the best available candidates. On the free agent market, that would be Stephen Drew and Jhonny Peralta. A contract for Drew could reach 4 years though and that's not something New York wants to do. 

The Astros are looking to spend some money this offseason. With a minuscule payroll currently on the books, this doesn't come as too big a surprise. I'm not expecting them to make a huge signing, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them ink a couple of the mid level free agents to reasonable contracts. Reports have them mulling a run at Shin-Soo Choo in order to make a splash. I think they wind up with a consolation prize: Someone like Nelson Cruz who can do some good things and shows the club has a willingness to better the team.

Stay tuned throughout the week as things develop in Orlando.