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I've tried to take with a grain of salt the various generic "Mariners are interested in Tanaka" headlines, figuring that "Duh! Of course they are! So is everyone else, you idjit! What's next, your breaking news is that the ocean is wet and salty?" I was fairly certain the M's were, however, one of the teams who could actually do something about it payroll-wise, if they would take the deep breath and go for it. The Dodgers payroll is already into the stratosphere and the Yankees have been trying to reduce payroll to get under the luxury tax. I hadn't really given much thought to the Cubbies - it just seemed more of a fit for a Japanese player to either be on a West Coast team or in NY than in the midwest. Stereotyping on my part? I don't know, and I'll have to examine why I think that way.
I do wonder how Tanaka will adapt to the slightly larger ball - how will it affect his splitter if the grip isn't the same? I'm a little concerned about the workload increase that pitching every five days and a longer season will have on him when September rolls around, but if he ends up a Mariner I cross that bridge when we get to it.
Felix is obviously #1. Right now Iwakuma has earned the #2 spot. Tanaka at #3? That would have to be the best #3 in MLB. Paxton at #4 - he's bigger, stronger, and more ready for a full-season workload than #5, Taijuan, who you can skip when days off let you so his innings load won't go up too much. Look at that again.
Felix.
Iwakuma.
Tanaka.
Paxton.
Walker.
Holy strikeout, Batman.