Masahiro Tanaka

New York Yankees: Giancarlo Stanton talks about “scary” Masahiro Tanaka incident

by
New York Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton

New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton had to endure an ugly moment last Saturday, when one line drive off his bat hit Masahiro Tanaka in the head. The Japanese hurler stayed a couple of minutes down but then was able to walk away to get treatment.

Almost immediately after the unfortunate incident, Stanton was seen wincing in fear, thinking that he might have seriously hurt his teammate and friend unintentionally. After all, Stanton is known around the league for posting the highest average exit velocity numbers, and Saturday’s drive was clocked around 112 miles per hour.

Thankfully, Tanaka was diagnosed with only a mild concussion, and he rode a stationary bike for 15-20 minutes on Monday, per New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

The Yankees’ pitcher is trending in the right direction

“All signs continue to be encouraging with Masa,” Boone told reporters. The pitcher was taken to the hospital after the injury, but was released later that night and has been at Yankee Stadium the last two days.

Stanton, clearly concerned about Tanaka’s health, seems to be in better spirits. “As long as he’s OK,” Stanton said to NJ.com, “I’m OK.”

“That was a terrible moment,” Stanton said. “For me, terrible, initially of course. You never want to see your teammate on the ground, especially by the hand of yourself.”

“That’s a scary thing, something that could have been a lot worse. I hope he’s OK and hopefully he gets past that quick.”

The Yankees slugger said that as his line drive soared toward Tanaka, his world moved in “slow-mo.”

“You want that ball to keep veering off and it didn’t,” he said.

Of course, Stanton knows a thing or two about getting hit in the head by a baseball. In 2014, a Mike Fiers fastball broke his jaw.

“At the end of the day,” Stanton said, “glad that (Tanaka) was awake and functioning and responsive right off the bat and throughout the evening, and the next day and today.”

New York Yankees receive great news after Masahiro Tanaka injury

by
New York Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka

The ball that left Giancarlo Stanton’s bat, which evidently hit Masahiro Tanaka in the head on a comebacker was soaring at 112 mph. The New York Yankees starting pitcher has never encountered anything as deadly or scary on the mound, and the reaction from Stanton tells the entire story.

The behemoth slugger instantly dropped to the ground in despair, worried for his teammate who was just left motionless in a clump on the mound. Luckily for Stanton, Tanaka is one tough son of a gun, as his concussion symptoms quickly alleviated at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Tanaka was able to go home that very night after scans came back clean and his symptoms tapered off. It is miraculous that the hit to the head didn’t cause a serious injury. Stanton ranks among the top of the league in exit velocity consistently, given his muscular physique and bodybuilder size.

Follow our New York Yankees Facebook page for news stories, updates, and VIRAL content!

The New York Yankees and Tanaka escape severe injury

For a pitcher, let alone any human being, being hit in the head by a projectile at 112 mph can be a death sentence. The 31-year-old Japanese born player managed to walk off the field under his own power.

Manager Aaron Boone confirmed that the CT scan came back negative, giving Tanaka a second chance at life. This occurred on the very first day of official spring training 2.0 activity. With Opening Dat projected to start in late July, Tanaka will be looking to return to his normal role in the coming days. He actually was present at Yankee Stadium just 24-hours later.

“I appreciate all the support,” Tanaka tweeted a few hours after being struck. “I feel it a bit right now, but I’m all good. Going to try to get back on the mound ASAP! Thanks again for all the encouraging words!”

The Yankees simply can’t find a way to avoid the injury bug, as both DJ LeMahieu and Luis Cessa both contracted COVID-19. Remaining isolated and healing, the Yankees will hopefully have their star players available for the start of the regular season, which will only be 60 games.

New York Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka diagnosed with a “mild concussion”

by
New York Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka

Following Saturday’s scary accident, New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has been diagnosed with a mild concussion. He was hit by a come-backer off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton in a simulated game.

The line drive was estimated to be about 112mph off the bat, hitting the Japanese born pitcher square in the head. He went down on the ground for a few minutes, before being assisted off the mound. After, he was taken to the New York-Presbyterian Hospital for testing. His CT scan came clean and he was released a few hours later.

On Sunday, he was reportedly in the Yankee clubhouse and acting normal. He still had his personality and it didn’t seem like anything happened just 24 hours prior. He underwent concussion protocol was diagnosed with a mild concussion.

Tanaka dodged a major bullet. If he was hit in the right spot, he could have been seriously injured or his life could have even been threatened. It’s even more impressive too see that he was okay especially since it was off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton, one of the most powerful hitters in baseball history.

A serious injury to Tanaka would have been devastating. The team is already down two pitchers with Luis Severino and Domingo German, and a third pitcher down would mean the team would have to go searching again. They likely would have turned to Clarke Schmidt or Deivi Garcia.

But fortunately, they won’t need to do that. With the concussion being mild and time until Opening Day, it’s likely he won’t go on the IL, at least not right away. Hopefully his recovery will go fast and we will see him back on the mound soon.

Should the Yankees re-sign Masahiro Tanaka or James Paxton in 2021?

by
New York Yankees, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka

The Yankees have some big decisions coming up this offseason. Two ace quality pitchers are set to be free agents in 2021. Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton. Who should they re-sign?

Masahiro Tanaka has been with the Yankees since 2014 and played the ace role for a couple of years. He has been on the decline ever since his 13-5, 2.77 ERA season in 2014 but is still a great pitcher to have in the rotation.

Tanaka has always been a reliable pitcher in big-time games and has phenomenal numbers in the postseason. He is 5-3 with a 1.76 ERA in 8 starts. He has been nothing short of incredible in October and is the pitcher the Yankees rely on the most in the fall. With ace type pitchers like Gerrit Cole and Luis Severino, he could be a really nice third arm in the regular-season rotation. But, he has trouble keeping the ball in the park. Last season, he gave up 28 home runs in 31 starts. That is definitely his number one flaw. 

Tanaka has built great chemistry with catcher Gary Sanchez and coaches seem very comfortable when he’s in the game. He can pitch late into games, throw a nasty slider, and a downward moving splitter. He’s a pitcher that can climb to the top of most teams’ rotation and a really good arm to have in October.

Follow our New York Yankees Facebook page for news stories, updates, and VIRAL content!

Should the Yankees retain James Paxton over Tanaka?

James Paxton was brought to the Bronx in a trade with the Seattle Mariners but hasn’t lost a step. He has transitioned over to the big apple nicely and has shown flashes of ace quality pitching. His main criticism last year was he couldn’t get out of the first inning without giving up runs. That showed in the playoffs as well. However, I don’t think this will be a reoccurring issue. Adjustments have to be made with approach, but with the acquisition of new pitching coach Matt Blake, I think it will be cleaned up nicely. 

Paxton has shown that he can get hitters out on the big stage and was someone that the Yankees needed to rely on down the stretch. It also helps that Paxton is lefty. Teams really like to have solid lefty pitchers in the rotation, and Paxton fills that spot. He is someone that I view as not in his prime yet and still has plenty of time to improve. His second half of the season was where he really shined and started to look like himself. Paxton can easily be pitching during All-Star Weekend at some point in the future. 

Now, I think that we might see both of these players back in pinstripes next year, but with players like LeMahieu, Judge, and Torres expecting big money soon, that might not be the case. The Yankees are trying to win now, and having a player that can get stuff done when the game is on the line is really crucial.

Verdict: Masahiro Tanaka

 

Yankees are hit with two major injuries in one day to extend bad luck

by
New York Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka

The Yankees are accustomed to general injuries suffered during baseball games. Whether it be players hit by a pitch, straining a muscle rounding the bases, or pulling a lat swinging a bat, most of the individual ailments suffered in recent years have been during live action.

This off-season, though, the Yankees have faced resurfacing injuries from last fall and new ones during spring training. However, the team cannot manage to escape the unfortunate reality of their situation. On Saturday, during the first official team workout post-MLB shut down, Giancarlo Stanton struck Masahiro Tanaka in the head with a line drive.

Tanaka immediately fell to the ground in obvious pain as a loud crack was heard across the stadium, and the ball struck him. He laid on the mound for several minutes before trainers were able to help him off the field under his own power.

Follow our New York Yankees Facebook page for news stories, updates, and VIRAL content!

Luckily, the Yankees starting pitcher was suffering minimal concussion symptoms that have since alleviated, but he will be under close watch after such a devastating blow. Stanton was in reasonable mental distress after he hit Tanaka with the comebacker, but things are looking up for the Japanese born player.

The Yankees are desperately trying to rid themselves of all this bad luck

This wasn’t the only poor news the Yankees received on Saturday, as both DJ LeMahieu, and Luis Cessa were diagnosed with COVID-19.

LeMahieu, who batted .327 with 26 homers and 102 RBIs in 2019, ranked fourth in MVP voting and earned an All-Star selection for his contributions. He was by far the Yankees’ best player and acted as their utility man across the infield. Losing him would be devastating, but we can imagine he will remain quarantined for the next few weeks until he is healthy. This also puts his teammates in jeopardy, especially if he had been spending any time around them in recent days.

The Yankees will continue to test their players and ensure none of them have contracted the virus, but luckily, the team has about a month until regular season play begins. They have an abundance of time to regain their health and security before taking the field against an official opponent.

New York Yankees News: Season Opt-outs around baseball, and Yankee health issues

by

The New York Yankees manager Aaron Judge announced yesterday during the first day of summer camp workouts, that no Yankee players to date, have opted out of playing during this coronavirus season. The agreement between MLB and MLBPA (players union) states that any player that feels uncomfortable with playing during the pandemic may opt-out.

The Los Angeles Angels Mike Trout, whose wife is pregnant expressed his reservations about playing during the pandemic but as of today is going to play. The New York Yankees Gerrit Cole who just had a baby boy is excited to play. Not all MLB players are a go on the season. Most notable is the new Los Angeles Dodger, former Red Sox Mookie Betts.

The Los Angeles Dodgers got a double hit when new pitcher David Price announced he will opt-out.  The Dodgers also got him from the Red Sox.  The new Atlanta Brave Felix Hernandez has opted out of the season. Others who have opted out are the Washington Nationals Ryan Zimmerman, Wellington Castillo, and Joe Ross, the Colorado Rockie Ian Desmond, and the Giants Tyson Ross.

That list will surely grow in the coming days and weeks as more players consider their personal situations and health situations around the United States. Black Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays who made so much noise during the MLB MLBPA negotiations, that he was putting his life in danger, and would not play for a reduced salary, has not announced that he will not play.

The latest on New York Yankees players health

The latest scare to Yankee player health came yesterday when pitcher Masahiro Tanaka took a rocket of a comebacker to the head.  He was pitching to teammate Giancarlo Stanton who hit an off speed ball directly to Tanaka’s head.  Tanaka immediately fell to the ground and lay motionless for several moments.  Tanaka was taken to the hospital for an MRI and tests.  He was released last evening, and Tweeted that he was “all good.” The next few days will be telling for his condition and if he will miss significant playing time.

James Paxton, Giancarlo Stanton, and Aaron Hicks are ready for the season to start.  There still remains a question as to if Aaron Judge will be ready for a 60 game season over 66 days, due to his healing fractured rib.  Recent days have shown that he may be further along in his rehab than previously thought. He was hitting homers at a prep school before camp and yesterday was doing the same against Gerrit Cole pitching.  Cole offered that his swing is great and he sees no pain.

The Yankees did report that DJ LeMahieu and Luis Cessa tested positive for the coronavirus.  However, it should be noted that they never reached Yankee Stadium as they are self quarantining at their homes. LeMahieu is reportedly asymptomatic, while Cessa has mild symptoms.  Both players gave the Yankees permission to release their names.

 

 

New York Yankees News: Statements from Masahiro Tanaka, Gleyber Torres, and Aaron Boone

by

For the New York Yankees, the first day of summer camp was going really well even though two Yankee players have tested positive for the coronavirus.  The demeanor of the day turned quickly when Masahiro Tanaka was pitching to Giancarlo Stanton, Stanton hit a line drive that hit Tanaka in the head.  Tanaka immediately fell to the ground in obvious pain. As he was hit you could hear a loud crack when the ball struck him.

He laid motionless for minutes before trainers helped him off the mound to the dugout. Stanton sat in the dugout stunned and concerned.  Tanaka was taken to New York’s Presbyterian Hospital for further evaluation. The Yankees issued the following statement: He is currently alert, responsive, and walking under his own power. He is being sent to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for further evaluation and testing.

A few hours later Tanaka was released from the hospital. Later in the evening, Tanaka posted to his Twitter account: “I appreciate all the support. I feel it a bit right now, but I’m all good. Going to try to get back on the mound ASAP! Thanks again for all the encouraging words!”

Gleyber Torres unhappy with Social Media

Yesterday shortly after Masahiro Tanaka was hit in the head by a line drive Gleyber Torres took to Twitter to show his distaste for social media outlets showing the exact moment that Tanaka was hit.  He first said:

I understand that people are doing their job and want to show everything we are doing, I understand that, but showing that exact moment that happened with our teammate does not seem right to us, we feel terrible to see the video in each part of social media.” He then added, “I understand that they have to write what happened but do not show that moment, Praying for Tanaka!“

Boone says first day of camp was efficient

After the first day of summer camp at New York Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, manager Aaron Boone expressed his pleasure with how efficiently the first day went.

While expressing concern for Masahiro Tanaka being hit in the head with a Giancarlo Stanton line drive he said: “I thought it went pretty well, Masahiro getting hit took the air out of it and put a little fear in everyone.” But he liked what he saw from the work the team put in.

During a normal training camp, the New York Yankees use the George M. Steinbrenner training complex in Tampa Florida.  The complex there has eight training fields. With the uptick in coronavirus cases in Florida, the Yankees moved north to the Stadium to have what is being called summer camp. With so many players and such a small place, the Yankees are using all parts of the Stadium even the great hall for a variety of needs.

“From an operational standpoint, I thought we were in good shape,’’ Boone said. “We used four mounds for bullpens and that worked well. It was a little bit of a longer day for our coaching staff, but we were in a good spot facility-wise with the reps we needed to get.”

Summer camp continues today at the Stadium.  This will be a very different training period and a very different season as a whole.  The New York Yankees will play 60 games over 66 days.  To start the season on July 23rd much to the delight of Yankees fans, new ace Gerrit Cole will pitch on opening day in Washington D.C. against the Washington Nationals, and their ace Mac Scherzer.  Cole said of the honor: ” I’m really excited about it opening up in D.C. is perfect for the country.”

 

 

Could the New York Yankees pursue Marcus Stroman during 2021 free agency?

by
yankees, New York Mets, Marcus Stroman

When it comes to starting pitching, the New York Yankees are incapable of remaining healthy. They lost Luis Severino for the entire 2020 season during spring training, due to Tommy John surgery. Last year, Severino barely saw the mound, and Jordan Montgomery was also recovering from Tommy John. Not to mention James Paxton needing surgery to remove a cyst from his lower back, which would have kept him out for several months if the season hadn’t been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Looking forward to 2021, the Yankees will lose one of their top starters in Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka has spent six years with the Yankees, compiling an average ERA of 3.75 and striking out 149 batters in 2019. However, his average ERA would indicate that he had a down season last year, logging a 4.45. However, he was an All-Star based on his first half of the season but fell off significantly in a second.

Nonetheless, Tanaka’s contract expires at the end of 2020, where he will earn $23 million in adjusted salary. A 32-years-old, the Yankees could extend him for a few more seasons, but they might look to free agency to fill the void.

Could the New York Yankees consider Marcus Stroman?

This is where Marcus Stroman comes into play, who is currently pitching for the New York Mets, just a few subway rides away. He will earn $12 million this season at 29-years-old. Last year, he earned a 3.77 ERA with the Mets and a 2.96 ERA with the Toronto Blue Jays. Overall, he had a solid campaign that the Yankees might be looking at if they elect to attack free agency for a new starting pitcher. His health has been solid throughout his career, which is a big factor for a team like the Yankees trying to get away from the injury bug.

Stroman doesn’t have a high strikeout arm and isn’t as flashy as the Yanks might prefer. Ultimately, he needs to have a strong defensive cast behind him, something the Bronx Bombers don’t necessarily have at the moment (Gleyber Torres and overall health of players). That could change if Gleyber Torres pans out at shortstop, and Luke Voit can remain healthy.

The Yankees might be able to land Stroman on a multi-year deal averaging in the $15-20 million range, which would be solid value considering his last few seasons of ball. Over 184.1 innings in 2019, he logged 159 strikeouts and allowed 18 home runs. Compared to Tanaka, who pitched 182 innings, he earned 149 strikeouts and gave up 28 home runs.

Overall, you can make the argument that Stroman is currently the better pitcher and might be a fantastic replacement for Tanaka moving forward.

Read more from Empire Sports Media:

New York Yankees: The story of Derek Jeter’s struggles in his first taste of MLB

New York Yankees’ Adam Ottavino thinks having no fans in games will help the Astros

MLB: Players counter with more games, more pay, check it out

New York Yankees: A look at contract extensions for Yankee players, what you need to know

by
New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

New York Yankees fans have wondered from time to time why the Yankees haven’t locked up young talents like Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and others.  The answer is likely to surprise fans; it doesn’t have that much to do with the player, it’s the owner.  Plain and straightforward, Yankee owner and managing partner Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t believe in it.  That’s not to be said that it hasn’t been done, but it does suggest why the Yankees engage in contract extensions so seldom.

This past year was an exception.  Aaron Hicks was a season away from free agency at the time, though the outfielder chose to forego the open market in favor of a new contract that paid him $64M in new money through the 2025 season.  Hicks will reportedly receive a $2MM signing bonus in addition to a $6MM salary in 2019 before earning $10.5MM annually from 2020-23 and $9.5MM in 2024-25. The club option is said to be valued at $12.5MM (with a $1MM buyout), and while Hicks doesn’t have any no-trade protection on the deal, he’d receive a $1MM assignment bonus upon being traded.

Ace Luis Severino inked a four-year, $40M deal that covered his four arbitration-eligible years as a Super Two player, and the agreement also contains a $15M club option for the 2023 season, which would have been Severino’s first free-agent year.   The New York Yankee also arranged a contract extension for Aroldis Chapman, the Yankees designated closer.  Chapman declined his opt-out in this contract in favor of a contract extension that will bring him $48 million over three years.  It gives him another $18 million in the last two years of the extended contract.

Going back to Steinbrenner’s dislike for contract extensions, the New York Yankees have only given extensions six times in the last eighteen years.   One was for CC Sabathia, who, like Chapman, waved his opt-out in favor of a $122 million extension in 2011.  Another was the extension for outfielder Brett Gardner who, before his free agency in 2014, accepted a contract extension worth $52 million over four years.  Gardner also just signed a new contract that will keep him a Yankee for another two years. The last year of his new contract includes an opt-out and buy out.

The main reason for Hal Steinbrenner’s distaste for extensions is that all of baseball remains so fluid these days.  The market for free agents continually changes from year to year and avoiding extensions tends to give the club more options on a yearly basis. An example of that is that if fans got their way last year and the Yankees locked up Judge, Sanchez, and Andujar to long term contracts, It would have most likely not have allowed the Yankees to go out during this offseason and acquire Gerrit Cole for $324 million over the next nine years.

Back in 2010 Steinbrenner in an interview with the Associated Press, he shed light on the subject:

“I just don’t believe in contract extensions, and that’s throughout the organization, no matter who it is.  Hopefully nobody takes that personally. It’s just business.”

He also added that it’s just against company policy.   Some good examples supporting that is when star player Derek Jeter came up for an extension, it wasn’t offered.  Instead, Jeter went into free agency and eventually signed a new contract after some hard negotiations.  The same is true of superstar closer Mariano Rivera he went onto the open market before signing a new contract with the Yankees.

During this offseason, the Yankees not only did not offer any contract extension but did not take up any of the player’s options, instead negotiating with them separately for new contracts.  Don’t look for the New York Yankees to be issuing any contract extensions in the near future, especially to Aaron Judge or Gary Sanchez, who both have long term injury issues.  If there is another exception to the rule, that would most likely be issued to DJ LeMahieu last year’s MVP, who will become a free agent after this season.

In the case of James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka, both who are aging, it is likely that any new contract that the Yankees make with them will be made after the season has concluded if there is a baseball season this year.

 

New York Yankees: What makes Masahiro Tanaka so effective?

by
New York Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka

Masahiro Tanaka is the longest-tenured starting pitcher for the New York Yankees ever since the team signed him in 2014 to a seven-year, $155 million contract. Despite having shaky starts here and there, Masahiro Tanaka has been very valuable for the Yankees and is a big reason for the team’s recent success.

Even though Tanaka doesn’t rank with the premier pitchers in the MLB in terms of regular seasons statistics, his postseason numbers sure do – and that’s what truly matters. In four years appearing in the postseason while pitching in six different series, Tanaka holds a 1.76 ERA in eight games started. To put Tanaka’s numbers into perspective, star-pitcher Stephen Strasberg has also appeared in six series and holds a 1.46 ERA in the postseason. Jacob DeGrom has appeared in three series and holds a 2.88 ERA during the postseason. There’s an argument for sample sizes, teams they were playing, etc. but stats don’t lie and Tanaka’s postseason number is up there with some of the MLB’s current bests.

What allows Tanaka to be so effective?

For starters, I believe that any pitcher that comes from the Japan league automatically has an advantage on MLB hitters. The Japanese style of pitching is completely different than American pitching. Any difference in the release of the ball can confuse and fool hitters. Even though Tanaka has been in the league for some time now, I think his motion and the way he releases the ball allows him to still dominate.

The biggest reason that Tanaka is able to still be effective for the New York Yankees is because of his strong command on his splitter. According to FanGraphs, in 2019, Tanaka threw his splitter 26.9% of the time compared to his fastball which he threw 30.6%. He throws his splitter on average 87mph which is only 3-4mph slower than his fastball. Teammate Tommy Kahnle also has success from his above-average offspeed pitch. When a pitch like a splitter, changeup, slider, or cutter, is comparable to your fastball velocity, you’re going to get a ton of swing-and-misses and weak contact.