Perhaps taking the stance that they may be down, but not out, the Rakuten Golden Eagles are not giving up on retaining starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, per Patrick Newman of NPBTracker.com.
Masahiro Tanaka reportedly offered $8 million to stay with Rakuten
Rakuten holds out hope of retaining their star pitcher
Rakuten is prepared to offer the pitcher an $8 million salary in the event they do not post him. No decision has been made just yet, and it doesn't appear as though one is on the horizon. While he is only one player, the rest of the starting pitching market appears to be waiting to see whether Tanaka will be posted, leaving pitchers such as Ervin Santana and Matt Garza twiddling their thumbs in the meantime.
Tanaka recorded an incredible 24-0 record in 2013 to go along with a 1.27 ERA. If he is posted, he could command a $100 million contract on top of the $20 million posting fee. The posting fee is part of a new agreement between the NPB and MLB that will reduce the exploding costs of posting fees, and give the NPB some assurance that MLB teams will not just wait until Japanese players reach free agency.
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