Earlier this week, Major League Baseball's owners voted to lock out the players, bringing the league's offseason to a halt. Just because MLB is on ice until a new Collective Bargaining Agreement can be ratified by both sides doesn't mean other leagues around the world are paused.
To wit, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball announced on Friday that veteran starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka will return to the club for the 2022 season, according to Yahoo! Japan.
Tanaka, 33 years old, is best known to American audiences for the seven seasons he spent as a member of the New York Yankees rotation. Prior to signing a seven-year contract with the Yankees worth $155 million ahead of the 2014 season, he had spent seven years as a member of Rakuten's roster.
Tanaka had rejoined the Golden Eagles last offseason after failing to find a big-league deal to his liking. His two-year contract included an opt-out clause for this winter, and there had been speculation that he might seek a return to the United States. The lockout robbed Tanaka of his ability to negotiate with MLB teams until a new CBA can be reached, however, leaving him with no real choice but to opt in for the second year. (It's unclear if Tanaka will attempt to return to the majors next offseason.)
Tanaka made 23 appearances for the Golden Eagles last season, amassing a 3.01 ERA and a 4.34 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 155 2/3 innings pitched.
In those seven seasons with the Yankees, Tanaka accumulated a 3.74 ERA and a 4.76 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His performances were worth a combined 17.4 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference's calculations.
