There are tons of NY Yankees rumors surrounding Masahiro Tanaka and the impact he may or may not have on the Bronx Bombers, but whatever happens, it seems as if the Yankees have done their homework.
MLB Trade Rumors reports that NY Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and his assistants have been scouting Masahiro Tanaka for seven years.
According to the report, Cashman stated that the Yankees started evaluating Tanaka "back in 2007, certainly paying close attention to him in the '09 (World Baseball Classic)." The Yankees general manager went on to add that the Yankees' staff "went to 15 of his games including the WBC and we sent a scout to evaluate him in the playoffs as well. We made a determined effort to know as much as we possibly could.”
Masahiro Tanaka went 24-0 with 1.27 ERA for the Japan Series champion Rakuten Golden Eagles last season. The hype surrounding Tanaka's Major League debut will be crazy, but as this report may indicate, the Yankees have believed for years that the Japanese ace will be worth it.