With just six days left until Masahiro Tanaka has to decide where he’s going to pitch this season, at least five teams made offers to the Japanese right-hander by Thursday, according to Nikkan Sports in Japan.
As of Saturday, sources close to the negotiations say there is no clear-cut favorite to land the 25-year-old, even after the Cubs and Dodgers have acknowledged meeting with Tanaka and his agent, Casey Close, in recent days.
According to Nikkan, the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, White Sox and Diamondbacks have made offers, all believed to be in the six-year, $100 million range, the expected asking price for the Rakuten Golden Eagles star.
Much of the rest of the free-agent starting pitching market is on hold while teams — including the Yankees — focus on Tanaka.
“Nothing has really changed in the last few days,” one source said. “Everyone is kind of in a holding pattern until teams have a better idea of where they stand with him.”
Teams have until Friday at 5 p.m. to sign Tanaka, whose price tag will include an additional $20 million posting fee to Rakuten.
On Friday, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said he had spoken to Close regularly over the past week, and Cubs president Theo Epstein told reporters there still were plenty of teams involved.
The Yankees generally have stayed quiet regarding their interest in Tanaka, who went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last year for Rakuten.
Managing partner Hal Steinbrenner said the Yankees were interested, but like other teams, they generally have abided by Close’s wishes to keep any talks between the sides private.
There’s no doubt, though, the Yankees have a strong desire to fortify their rotation, with just CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova locked in for next season — as Steinbrenner and pitching coach Larry Rothschild said last week.
Their first choice has been Tanaka from the start, but with the Cubs and White Sox both making strong pushes and the Dodgers still interested even after signing Clayton Kershaw to a massive extension, team officials know they face stiff competition.