5 Yankees responsible for the team’s sluggish start

3. Masahiro Tanaka

Tanaka wasn’t expected to be the ace of the Yankees’ staff this season, but optimistic fans were hoping he could hold up as a solid No. 2 starter. Through four turns of the rotation he looks more like a fringe starter than an ace.

That’s quite concerning given the ever-present worries about Tanaka’s health. You almost have to expect he’ll miss a significant portion due to injury. That places a real premium on him being very productive when he’s healthy.

An ERA of 6.45 is not what anyone would call extreme productivity. Tanaka has looked utterly lost during several of his starts this year. It’s too soon to sound the alarm bells, but the early returns are not good for the Japanese hurler.

It may be time to recalibrate the expectations for Tanaka. If he can stay reasonably healthy this year and eat up some innings as an average starter the Yankees should chalk it up as a win. Anyone expecting him to dominate for long stretches is going to be extremely disappointed.