Until Gerrit Cole’s signing last offseason, Masahiro Tanaka was the most recent massively high profile pitching acquisition the Yankees made. That’s not to say the James Paxton trade wasn’t exciting when it was made, but Tanaka was arguably the big pitching name on the market when the Yankees inked him in January 2014.
Since then, Tanaka’s had some good seasons, some excellent ones, and a bad one or two. He defeated the concept of Tommy John surgery and produced some memorable playoff moments. He’s also been one of the most lovable Yankees on and off the field.