NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The Yankees are denying a report that they will not pursue ace Masahiro Tanaka if he opts out of his contract after this season.
The Daily News reported that the Yankees’ brass is not thrilled by the tactics of Tanaka’s agent, Casey Close, who seems to be using the potential for an opt-out as leverage.
“I just don’t see Hal (Steinbrenner) going there,” a source told the newspaper. “He’s still smarting from the (CC) Sabathia and (Mark) Teixeira deals.”
But Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, president Randy Levine and general manager Brian Cashman told the Post the report is not true.