According to John Shea, the national baseball writer for the
San Francisco Chronicle,
the Red Sox are among just three preferred landing spots (LA, NY, Boston) for Japanese free agent pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. So, despite information to the contrary by GM
Ben Cherington, the team
must be in relatively serious discussions with Tanaka. Of course putting three of the biggest markets in the public rumor mill is a good strategy to drive up the ultimate signing price, but it makes sense that Tanaka would want to land with a big-market contending team. Stay tuned, as 5PM Eastern on January 24th is the deadline for signing the 25-year old phenom.
