Masahiro Tanaka has not been as good as 2014 Masahiro Tanaka or 2018 first-half Luis Severino, but it has been close enough to provide a second-half ace to the Yankees.
And it has been good enough to make me think about a big-picture question: Has Tanaka been worth his seven-year, $175 million price tag?
Of course, all precincts have not weighed in yet since Tanaka is signed through 2020. To this point, Tanaka has not been the No. 1 starter the Yankees envisioned they were buying for $155 million plus $20 million more in posting fees to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, his Japanese team.