A-Rod out, Tanaka in?

Out with the old, and in with the New... is what Yankee fans are hoping they can say come April 2014....

Alex Rodriguez's suspension, appeal, and arbitration process have held the Yankees offseason plans in a bind since the final out of the 2013 season was recorded.

With the news of yesterday's arbitration ruling, which saw arbitration judge Fred Horowitz reduce Alex Rodriguez's sentence to 162 games plus any playoff games in the 2014 season, the Yankees can finally move forward with their plans of getting below the $189 million luxury tax threshold and more importantly pursuing this off-seasons prized possession - Masahiro Tanaka.

Pending Alex Rodriguez's success in appealing the arbitrators decision in federal court (not likely), his $25 million dollar salary plus any bonus' he may have earned in the 2014 season is reduced to the lovely sum of $0 for the Yankees front office.

With A-Rod's lofty contract off the books, it will be highly possible for the Yankees to field a competitive offer to Tanaka, who also has interest from the Dodgers, White Sox, Cubs, Diamondbacks, and of course the Seattle Mariners... who have already been a thorn in the side of the Yankees this offseason. The more money saved on A-Rod, the more money that can be thrown into guaranteed cash or incentives for a contract with Tanaka.

The Yankees are believed to have been in contact with Tanaka and his agent Casey Close this past week in Los Angeles, California, where Tanaka met with MLB teams and took a physical. No comments have been released by either party.

My guess is that Tanaka will command a contract around $100 million. Tack on the $20 million dollar posting fee to the Rakuten Golden Eagles and your looking at a $120-130 commitment. With only C.C. Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, and Ivan Nova penciled in to the 2014 rotation, the Yankees are in desperate need of starting pitching and may need to offer up a little more to outbid the Dodgers on Tanaka, who are going 'all out' for the Japanese ace.

Tanaka, 25 years young, posted a remarkable 24-0 record with 1.27 ERA for the Golden Eagles last year in Japan.

He must sign with an MLB team by January 24, or else his rights will be surrendered back to Rakuten.

Stay tuned.