Veteran Yankees pitcher Tanaka agrees return to Japan's Rakuten

[January 28, 2021]    TOKYO (Reuters) - Pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has agreed to return to Japanese baseball team the Rakuten Eagles after spending seven seasons with the New York Yankees, Rakuten announced on its website on Thursday.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (19) looks on before game three of the 2019 ALCS playoff baseball series against the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Tanaka began his career with Rakuten in 2007 before moving to the Yankees in 2014 for a reported $155 million contract, one of the highest ever for a pitcher at the time.

Media reports have said Tanaka, a free agent, was looking at returning to the Nippon Professional Baseball club after the Yankees recently added starting pitchers Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon.

Terms of Tanaka's new deal were not immediately known.

(Reporting by Chris Gallagher; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.