Masahiro Tanaka delivered almost everything the Yankees expected him to do when he hired him – except for a trip to the World Series.
The day after Tanaka signed an agreement to return to Japan to play for his former team in 2021, general manager Brian Cashman subtly blamed the Astros’ plate theft scandal for preventing Yankees and Tanaka from getting there.
“I feel like he did everything he could to get us where we wanted to go,” said Cashman during a call from Zoom on Friday. “And in that little window that we probably don’t want to talk about, he probably would have taken us to a World Series if we hadn’t done some mischief.”
The Yankees lost to Houston at ALCS 2017 in seven games, and it was later revealed that the Astros used a signal stealing scheme to deflect pitches throughout that season.
Tanaka shot well in a game 1 win and a game 5 defeat in that series.
“This is something I thought about when he returned to Japan, ” Cashman said. “It’s kind of sad. You check many of those boxes when you have those dreams. He came to the United States to play, compete and perform at the major league level, and finally, in doing so, had the chance to compete in a World Series and that opportunity was potentially stolen from him. ”
Cashman also did not rule out the possibility of a return to the Bronx for Tanaka, who signed for $ 8.5 million with Rakuten.
“He was a great Yankee,” said Cashman. “He was a great Yankee. A tremendous competitor [and] a big loss for us. I am always open to assess the opportunities that present themselves. There are no closed doors from my perspective. Let’s put it that way. “
Another Yankee veteran, Brett Gardner, remains available on the free agent market. Without Gardner, the Yankees do not have a left-handed hitter in the squad, except Aaron Hicks.
Cashman noted that, as Gardner is still a free agent, he was unable to comment, but said: “Clearly, we’ve been fans of Brett for a long time. He’s been a great Yankee. We will see how things will happen in the coming weeks. “
The Yankees have an external field made up of Hicks, Aaron Judge, Clint Frazier and Mike Tauchman, with Greg Allen also on the list of 40 players.
Cashman got the salary relief he was looking for when he traded Adam Ottavino for the Red Sox, but it was not where the GM expected the right-hander to end.
Cashman said that “I finally needed to add some [financial] flexibility. I prefer not to have the Boston Red Sox be able to provide that flexibility. “
But Boston, according to Cashman, took most of Ottavino’s remaining $ 9 million contract, which allowed the Yankees to include a smaller perspective than they would have given up to another team. They have since agreed to a one-year contract with another right-hander, Darren O’Day, and could use part of the money released to another player.
Ottavino was at Yankee Stadium when he heard it had been traded, according to Aaron Boone.
“He was there having a shooting session and working out,” said Boone, who was also at the stadium. “We had a chance to talk. That was a little strange. “
Boone and Cashman said Ottavino shot better than their numbers indicated.
“The last thing I wanted to do was put it in the hands of our competitor,” said Cashman. “But in the final analysis, I’m not afraid to do business with anyone if it serves any purpose.”
Cashman and Boone expect spring training to start on time – at least on Friday.
While discussions between the MLB and the Players’ Association continue to work out details and protocols, Boone said he feels “as if we are in a position to be ready to start now”
The Yankees are due to open camp on February 17.
“As late as [Thursday] we were told that we are still on time, “he said,” so we are getting ready and we feel very ready to go. “