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Masahiro Tanaka delivered just about everything the Yankees hoped for when they signed him – aside from a trip to the World Series.
A day after Tanaka signed a deal to return to Japan to present his former team in 2021, general manager Brian Cashman subtly accused the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal of preventing the Yankees and Tanaka from getting there. .
“I feel like he did everything he could to get us to where we wanted to go,” Cashman said on a Friday Zoom call. “And in that little window that we probably don’t want to talk about, he probably would have brought us to a world series if we hadn’t come across the shenanigans.
The Yankees lost to Houston in the 2017 ALCS in seven games, and it was later revealed that the Astros had used a sign-stealing ploy to tip the courts throughout this season.
Tanaka pitched well in a win in Game 1 and a loss in Game 5 in this series.
“That’s something I thought about when he returned to Japan,” Cashman said. “It’s a bit sad. You check a lot of these boxes when you have these dreams. He came to the United States to play and compete and perform at the major league level and ultimately, in doing so, have a chance to make a World Series and that was potentially stolen from him, that opportunity.
Cashman also didn’t 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 formidable competitor [and] a big loss for us. I am always open to evaluating the opportunities that arise. There are no closed doors from my point of view. Let’s put it this way.
Another Yankee veteran, Brett Gardner, remains available in the free agent market. Without Gardner, the Yankees don’t have a left-handed hitter in the lineup aside from Aaron Hicks, who hit the switch.
Cashman noted that Gardner is still a free agent, he was unable to comment, but said: “Obviously we’ve been a huge fan of Brett for a long time. He was a great Yankee. We’ll see how things develop over the next few weeks.
The Yankees have an outfield made up of Hicks, Aaron Judge, Clint Frazier and Mike Tauchman, with Greg Allen also on the 40-man roster.
Cashman got the pay break he was looking for when he traded Adam Ottavino to the Red Sox, but that’s not where the GM hoped the right-hander would end up.
Cashman said he “finally needed to add [financial] flexibility. I’d rather the Boston Red Sox weren’t able to offer that flexibility. “
But Boston, according to Cashman, made the most of the remaining $ 9 million in Ottavino’s contract, which allowed the Yankees to include a lesser prospect than they would have left to another team. They have since agreed to a one-year contract with another right-hander, Darren O’Day, and could use some of the money released on another player.
Ottavino was at Yankee Stadium when he learned he had been traded, according to Aaron Boone.
“He was there to throw and practice,” said Boone, who was also at the stadium. “We had the chance to speak. It was a little weird.
Boone and Cashman said Ottavino threw better than his numbers indicated.
“The last thing I wanted to do was hand it over to our competitor,” Cashman said. “But at the end of the day, I’m not afraid to do business with anyone if it serves whatever our goals are.”
Cashman and Boone both expect spring training to start on time – at least starting Friday.
While discussions between MLB and the Players’ Association continue to work out the details and protocols, Boone said he felt “like we’re in a very good position to be ready to go right now.” .
The Yankees are scheduled to open their camp on February 17.
“As late as [Thursday] we were told we were still on time, ”he said,“ so we are getting ready and we feel ready to go. “
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