Yankees rumors seem to follow the biggest and brightest New York Yankees superstars around the city on a daily basis, and it now looks like the Yankees' most-hyped acquisition of the offseason will get a taste of that by the end of this week.
The Associated Press has just confirmed that Japanese star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has obtained his United States work visa, meaning that the New York Yankees' newest starting pitcher will be ready to go when Yankees pitchers and catchers report to Tampa Bay, Florida on Valentine's Day.
The AP is also reporting that Tanaka, who signed a 7-year, $155 million deal with the New York Yankees just a couple weeks back, "could depart for the United States as early as Sunday."
As the hype has been thickening stateside, the former Rakuten Golden Eagles starting pitcher has been working out in Sendai, Japan, telling AP reporters that he is "in better shape at this point compared to previous years."
As reported last week, Masahiro Tanaka's work visa process was expedited by New York Senator Chuck Schumer and his office, in order to ensure that the Yankees' newest superstar could report to Spring Training on time.