LA Angels: 3 reasons to sign Masahiro Tanaka

Much Needed Experience

Tanaka hasn’t always been the most dominant pitcher around, but when the lights shine the brightest so does he. With the Yankees, he has made several postseason trips and performed better than almost any of his peers. Tanaka was the first pitcher in modern history to allow 2 runs or less through his first seven postseason starts.

Those impressive stats led him to a 1.32 ERA through 41 innings. I don’t think it leaves much to the imagination what that could do for a franchise like the Angels. Of course getting to the playoffs is the first hurdle they need to jump but what about once they get there? Tanaka is exactly the type of clubhouse leader that could show everyone around him how a true professional handles the pressure.

With the utter lack of postseason experience on the roster there could be some nervous energy flowing through that locker room. Thankfully their manager has a world series win under his belt but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately Maddon can only write the lineups and can’t quite affect the product on the field besides pitching changes.

Undoubtedly Tanaka is not the savior the Angels are looking for but it really would be a great move for the franchise. With such a great young core and hopefully some good young arms on the horizon, a consistent starter, with great work ethic, could truly right the ship for this struggling bunch.