Yankees second-half has arrived; who steps up?

Masahiro Tanaka

When first signed by the New York Yankees, the aspirations were high for Masahiro Tanaka — so high, that Tanaka was almost destined to fail by Yankee standards.

But the failures did not come in full force until his fourth season in the majors when his ERA rose into the high four’s, only for it to stay in the mid four’s this season. Two mediocre seasons in a row could be worrisome for the Yanks, who put a sizeable monetary investment into the Japanese born pitcher.

Injuries have also impacted Tanaka throughout his career, with the transfer to MLB from Nippon Professional Baseball to blame in many baseball minds.

Due to these injuries, one most recently passing, Tanaka may need time to regain form, but he has proved that he is capable of success in MLB. The biggest issue facing the split-finger throwing starter is that the Yankees are without time to waste.

Behind the first place Red Sox by five games, after leading the MLB in winning percentage at the start of the month, the chase for the division is on. And now that there are less than half the season’s games left to catch up to the East Coast rivals, the Yanks are indeed pressed for time.

On another note, Tanaka, himself, is running out of time. Tanaka will turn 30 in November, the magical number often instigating the downward spiral of a player’s career.

But Tanaka’s problems stem from an increased number of walks, fly balls and consequently, home runs. But his excessive runs allowed could also be due to changes to his pitch choice.

Tanaka’s pitches have been relatively consistent in both movement and speed, but he has relied on his sinker almost 25 percent less than its peak usage. This could be a result of his sinker having a .309 batting average against over his career.

Despite these flaws, I do believe Tanaka is on the path back toward success and if the Yankees are to go far this Postseason, a successful Tanaka would be more than helpful.