Yankees' Tanaka declines to opt out: 'It was a simple decision'

Masahiro Tanaka announced Friday he won't opt out of the final three years on his contract with the New York Yankees, reaffirming in a statement his desire to bring a championship back to the Bronx.

"I have decided to stay with the Yankees for the next three seasons," he said. "It was a simple decision for me as I have truly enjoyed the past four years playing for this organization and for the wonderful fans of New York."

Tanaka, who turned 29 on Wednesday, will make $67 million over the next three seasons, then hit free agency following the 2020 campaign.

"I'm excited to continue to be a part of this team, and I'm committed to our goal of bringing a World Series championship back to the Steinbrenner family, the Yankees organization, and the great fans of New York," he added.

Signed by the Yankees ahead of the 2014 season following an illustrious seven-year stint with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Pacific League, Tanaka has been New York's de facto ace for the last four years despite dealing with some elbow issues early in his MLB career and scuffling a bit this past season. As a rookie in 2014, he was an All-Star, crafting a 2.77 ERA (138 ERA+) and 6.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 20 starts before a torn ulnar collateral ligament derailed his season in July. He opted not to undergo Tommy John surgery, though, and proceeded to author a fine sophomore season, putting up a 3.51 ERA (116 ERA+) and 0.99 WHIP, albeit while making only 24 starts due to arm issues. Last year, Tanaka erased any lingering concern over his elbow, finishing seventh in American League Cy Young voting after fashioning a 3.07 ERA (140 ERA+) over a career-high 199 2/3 innings.

In 2017, however, as an increasingly youthful Yankees club defied expectations and came within one win of an American League pennant, Tanaka endured the roughest season of his MLB career, stumbling to a 4.74 ERA (95 ERA+) and 1.24 WHIP over 30 starts. He fared much better toward the latter half of the campaign, though, posting a 3.54 ERA and 5.90 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his final 16 regular-season outings before dazzling across three postseason starts in which he combined to allow just two earned runs over 20 innings (0.90 ERA).