The ink on Clayton Kershaw‘s new seven-year, $215 million contract hasn’t even dried but Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti is already looking to spend some more of the Guggenheim Partners’ money – and soon.
According to ESPN reports, Colletti has had talks with Japanese star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka‘s agent almost every day this week. Tanaka has been talking to multiple teams who have until next Friday to sign him and pay his Japanese team a $20 million posting fee.
Tanaka is expected to land a contract worth around $100 million. The Dodgers payroll is already close to $250 million for 2014, the highest in the majors. Even so, the Dodgers remain the center of MLB free agent rumors as Colletti is looking to sign the highly sought after star to a long-term deal. The Dodgers and the Yankees are believed to be the frontrunners in the Tanaka sweepstakes.
If the Dodgers can’t land Tanaka, they are expected to go after former Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo. If they don’t sign another pitcher, the fifth starter job will likely be decided in Spring Training between Josh Beckett and Chad Billingsley. The Dodgers already signed former Nationals pitcher Dan Haren earlier this offseason and have Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu to fill out their starting five.
The Dodgers are also trying to extend Hanley Ramirez‘s contract, which expires after this season.
Since buying the Dodgers in March of 2012 for $2.15 billion, the Guggenheim Partners have added more than $1 billion in total player contracts. Of course, the Dodgers also have a new TV deal with Time Warner Cable that pays the team over $6 billion over the next 25 years.
