Yankees legend Masahiro Tanaka's comeback attempt gets big update

Masahiro Tanaka is trying to get back to the biggest baseball stage available to him.

The former Yankees superstar is under contract in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants, and on Wednesday, he made a start for the Giants' minor-league affiliate.

It didn't go well.

Tanaka went 4.2 innings in the Japanese minor-league game, allowing 14 hits and six earned runs while failing to record a single strikeout.

The 36-year old righty might simply not have it anymore.

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His MLB tenure has long since passed. He last pitched for the Yankees in 2020.

Tanaka spent seven seasons in the Bronx, compiling a 78-46 record with a 3.74 ERA and 991 strikeouts in 1054.1 innings.

The split-finger artist returned to Japan for the 2021 season. He pitched for Rakuten from 2021-2024. He had a 3.01 ERA in 2021, a 3.31 ERA in 2022, a 4.91 ERA in 2023 and a 4.50 ERA in 2024.

Tanaka missed time with injury last season and hasn't found a great way to get back up to speed this season.

He has made 11 appearances in total this season with a 3.48 ERA across levels, so Tanaka isn't totally done. 

But his outing Wednesday shows that he's far from the pitcher that he once was, and he'll certainly never star again like he once did for the Yankees.

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