Yankees: CC Sabathia trolls Masahiro Tanaka over swing video

CC Sabathia wants to make sure current Yankees starter Luis Severino saw Masahiro Tanaka’s latest swings.

The Yankees, operating on a self-imposed shoestring budget following the DJ LeMahieu extension this offseason, chose Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon over Masahiro Tanaka instead of simply…doing all three things.

Unfortunate.

And we thought we were over it before we saw Tanaka working out and throwing in a Rakuten Golden Eagles jersey this week, which brought all the feelings back again.

Somehow, on Saturday, the emotions became even more heightened.

Because here was Tanaka taking absolute daddy hacks on a Saturday afternoon, as we here in America enter what is likely the final season in the history of our great game in which pitchers of any kind will hit — pending poorly-thought-out pinch hitting appearances.

Please, enjoy Tanaka’s batting practice in peace.

High socks, headband, hacks…is there any chance we could welcome Masahiro “The Next Bryce Harper” Tanaka back as a fifth outfielder? Presuming Jay Bruce doesn’t make the team?

If there’s one thing we knew about Tanaka during his Yankees career, it’s that he was always guaranteed to show up to the best of his ability during the postseason.

But if you accept there are two things we knew, you can add to the list that his cross-cultural relationship with Luis Severino and the rest of the Yanks’ staff was priceless.

So, in response to Tanaka’s BP session, CC Sabathia checked in to make absolutely certain that Luis Severino happened to catch the whiffs in the middle of his rehab.

https://twitter.com/YanksGoYardFS/status/1360656438885048321?s=20

Lord, grant me an inside look at Sabathia, Tanaka and Severino clowning in the locker room about how Tanaka is a slap-hitting singles specialist. Lord, just grant me that one time.

All in all, Tanaka got 29 plate appearances as a big leaguer, ripping one hit (a single) and taking a walk against a lefty! Not bad! Not good, but not bad.

Sabathia? Three bombs in 121 career at-bats, buoyed by a .346 average with a homer and a double in 10 career home games — yeah, that Milwaukee tenure in 2008 really was impressive in every way.

Looks like the criticism is valid here, and Tanaka should probably respond to the guys back at home in case they have any advice on improving your launch angle. Sevy probably does not, but you can trust the Big Man.

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