Former Yankees ace twists the knife on botched reunion

Masahiro Tanaka wanted to return to the Yankees, which is painful for fans of the team to hear.

Masahiro Tanaka, after the 2020 season, went home to Japan to continue his pitching career in his home country. At the time, the narrative was that Tanaka was headed home to a place he’d be more comfortable and that the decision to leave the MLB was largely his own choice.

Tanaka recently cleared the air on that, revealing that, if he had it his way, he’d still be a Yankee.

Masahiro Tanaka wanted to return to the New York Yankees

Here’s what the fan-favorite pitcher said, per The Japan Times, on heading overseas to play in Japan:

"“When I became a free agent, honestly I wanted to sign another contract with Yankees and play there,” Tanaka said after returning to Japan. “Then as I heard different things, I thought I might have to take a different road and considered various things.”"

Tanaka was replaced by Corey Kluber — who pitched a no-hitter that season — and Jameson Taillon, who performed well and signed a substantial deal in free agency with the Chicago Cubs after two strong years with the Yankees.

Tanaka was a fan favorite, and so his departure was viewed as a negative by plenty of pinstripe-wearing fans. To many, it still is, and this quote is evidence that the Yankees didn’t do enough to keep their pitching core.

Tanaka has struggled in Japan, though, after a lackluster 2020 in the MLB where he put up a 3-3 record. His latest contract back with the Rakuten Eagles is for just a few million after earning over $300 million the last two seasons with Rakuten.

The big what-if is how the Yankees pitching development might have been able to help Tanaka stay on track.

The reality of Tanaka continuing his career post-2020 in New York is likely much different than the story Yankees fans will conjure in their minds.