Inside The Pinstripes

Ex-Yankees Masahiro Tanaka, Chris Gittens Are Now Teammates in Japan

Former New York Yankees first baseman Chris Gittens has signed with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, joining ex-Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka in Japan.

Max Goodman

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As Chris Gittens transitions to playing professional baseball in Japan, he'll have a familiar face to help him adjust.

The first baseman, who briefly debuted with the Yankees this past season, posted on social media late Thursday night that he will play for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2022.

It just so happens that former Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka also plays for Rakuten, entering his second season in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball after seven years in the Bronx. 

Sharing Gittens' post, Tanaka tweeted that he "can't wait" for Gittens to arrive, mixing in some fire emojis as well.

Gittens and Tanaka never shared the field together at the big-league level—Gittens made his MLB debut in June after seven years in New York's minor league system. But you have to figure their paths crossed at some point during spring training over the years.

The slugging first baseman participated in Yankees spring training for the first time in 2016 before three straight years at big-league camp from 2018 to 2020. 

Even if those two never officially met, Tanaka can certainly serve as a resource for Gittens as he makes the jump from MLB to NPB next year.

In 16 games with the Yankees this year, Gittens hit .111 with one home run, five RBI and 13 strikeouts. He's previously excelled in the minors, though. Gittens hit .301 with 14 homers, 44 RBI and a 1.084 OPS over 45 career games in Triple-A. He was released by the Yankees last month to pursue an opportunity in Japan.

There had been some speculation that Tanaka could opt out of his contract in Japan to return to the United States, handling some "unfinished business" in Major League Baseball. Tanaka ended up returning to the Golden Eagles for another season. 

Tanaka posted a 3.01 ERA over 23 games during his homecoming season with Rakuten, throwing 155.2 innings.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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