Yanks Go Yard
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The Yankees, if they want to, can write Masahiro Tanaka off

By Steve Contursi

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Yankees and everyone else including the man himself remain as perplexed as ever as to what’s “wrong” with Tanaka. It could turn into a moot discussion, though, because the team may not need him at all.

The Yankees don’t have the time or the energy to play around with a disillusioned pitcher at this stage of the season. And if it were Michael Pineda instead of Masahiro Tanaka, the same thing would be true.

But it isn’t Pineda, or CC Sabathia, or Luis Severino, or Jordan Montgomery. It’s Tanaka. And no doubt, it comes as quite a surprise that we’re talking about him instead of any of the others who were the real question marks not too long ago.

More than anyone, Joe Girardi has proven that he has a feel for the pulse of his team

But the fact is that the Yankees are wearing the same shoes as Tanaka when it comes to a breach in self-confidence if that’s indeed the only problem Tanaka has right now. And there’s no way that Joe Girardi can feel confident when he sends Tanaka out there tomorrow night in Anaheim to meet the lowly Angels instead of the powerful Orioles this afternoon.

And there’s no way that Joe Girardi can feel confident when he sends Tanaka out there tomorrow night in Anaheim to meet the lowly Angels instead of the powerful Orioles this afternoon.

Nothing will be revealed in Anaheim

And it’s also a fact that Tanka’s start is meaningless if he happens to turn in another three-hit gem as he did a couple of weeks ago. Instead, what matters is what he does in the next two or three starts.

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It’s difficult to come down hard on someone like Tanaka who is such a fierce competitor and likable person. But to reemphasize, the Yankees don’t need to be messing with this, especially since they have adequate replacements on tap to fill the gap created by Tanaka.

But the irony is that at the beginning of the 2017 season, the primary worry was that Tanaka would opt-out of his contract and leave the Yankees for greener pastures.

Now, it’s almost like, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

And it’s not only about Tanaka’s uneven performance this season. It’s about the 180 innings he’s averaged over the past ten seasons, including the years he spent in his home country, along with the fact that he’s been pitching at this level since he was 18.

That, more than anything, gives the Yankees reason to doubt that Tanaka will ever be the pitcher he was as recently as last year when he was a viable candidate for a Cy Young.

A multitude of options

It’s likely that Girardi will continue to leave Tanaka in the rotation, if only because he has no other use for him. And it’s also likely that the Yankees will not be threatened (overall) if Tanaka cannot mend himself.

But it’s also clear that they could trade Tanaka or put him on a shelf somewhere and not be hurt by that either.

Chad Green steps in and makes the start today. Adam Warren could have done the same thing if Girardi had called on him. And over in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Railriders have Chance Adams, who, as my colleague Cory Claus recently pointed out, is quietly mirroring Tanaka’s rotation start days.

Girardi’s the man

Of course, having multiple options only increases the chances of making a mistake when you choose one. But Joe Girardi, an early hands-down choice for Manager of the Year, has been in this position before.

And thinking back to Spring Training when he anointed Montgomery as his fifth starter among a slew of possible candidates, he’s proven that he has a feel for the pulse of his team.

And although there is a reason for reservations about Tanaka, for that reason alone, I’ll go with whatever he decides to do with Tanaka.

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