The New York Yankees paid a $20 million posting fee to sign Masahiro Tanaka away from the Rakuten Golden Eagles prior to his age-25 season in 2014 and then inked him to a seven-year, $155 million contract.
All things considered, it was money well spent.
Tanaka went 78-46 with a 3.74 ERA (114 ERA+), 1.13 WHIP and 991 strikeouts in 1,054.1 innings over the life of that contract, earning two All-Star selections and going 5-4 with a 3.33 ERA in 10 postseason starts.
Now he is a free agent once again, and in a thin market behind National League Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer, he will likely generate interest from a number of teams.