Told ya guys that Dodgers weren't all that serious about pursuing him...

I personally had it down to Mariners and Yankees.  

MLB.COM still has nothing on it, but FOX SPORTS is reporting it per report on ESPN.

have any of these import pitchers ever been worth the money they sign for? I can't think of a single one that has been worth the money. Not to say some haven't turned out to be decent pitchers but the contracts are crazy compared to the output. I realize a portion of the money goes to the former team but these guys are making ace money without facing a single MLB hitter.

contract, they got close to what he got, but those guys were already proven pitchers in MLB. While he has been outstanding in Nippon League, he could turn out to be a complete dud, if he can't get used to the US culture.  

Fair market dictated his price, but the market has been wrong so many times...

Why can't Yankees develop players through their farm system. We just signed Strasburg for 1 yr 3.5 million extension (he still has not completed 6 yrs in MLB). Makes a huge difference if you know how trades work.

the Yankees got all those rings in the 90's and 00's. Jeter, B. Williams, Posada, Mo Rivera, just to name a few. The last decade they have traded away most/all of their talent for mostly over the hill "all stars" trying to maintain the championship run. Because of that they really have nothing of value on the farm. In the Nats case they have drafted well and more importantly, early. Yankees haven't had a number one since the early 90's late 80's so the players they are drafting are usually developmental types. I did see one stat, the new guy just signed the 5th richest contract in history for a pitcher. The other 4 won a Cy Young before the got their big deal

In years past, the Yankees could simply wait for young talent to reach free agency and then, if they desired, come in with a substantial offer. The only player I can think of that the Yankees really wanted in free agency and didn't get was Greg Maddux (and even though he didn't want to go to the Yankees, he was all set to go to NY until the Braves came in with an offer that was close)

Now, the economics of baseball have changed drastically where teams simply do not allow their young talent to reach free agency. Players like Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, Cole Hammels, Joey Votto, Clayton Kershaw, Ryan Braun (PED's aside), Matt Cain, etc. are locked up by their current team before they hit free agency. Teams have the financial ability to keep their own talent. It is highly unlikely stars like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper and Yasiel Puig will ever be available to the Yankees in free agency.

As others have pointed out, the Yankees have done a terrible job recently of building their farm system. They have no potential #1 starters in the wings (or for that matter elite prospects at any position). Masahiro Tanaka represented the Yankees best chance at getting a potential #1 starter, who at age 25, is presumably still on the upside of his career. Players of his stature simply do not make it to free agency any more. The Yankees had no choice but to outbid everyone.  

Obviously, this is a tremendous risk. No one has any idea if he will be Yu Darvish or Kei Igawa. For the Yankees sake, he better be closer to the former.  

 

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Heard he was going to pay either 87 or 97 million dollars in taxes. If he would of signed with the Cubs or D-Backs 20 million less!

AZ is tax friendly while IL is somewhere in the middle.. How about WA with no state income tax. And I heard that Mariners were somewhere in the picture.

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