NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner says the team has agreed to a $155 million, seven-year contract with prized Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.
Along with the contract, first reported by Fox, the Yankees must pay a $20 million fee to the Japanese team of the 25-year-old right-hander, the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Tanaka caps an offseason that saw the Yankees add Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran.
Steinbrenner said Wednesday that “we had to make sure we had enough pitching to go together with our new lineup.”
Big league teams had until Friday to reach an agreement with Tanaka, who was 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last year as the Golden Eagles won the Japan Series title.
