Two MLB Free Agents Staying Put

You can cross off the list two names that won't be joining the free agent market when it opens this winter.

Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka said on Friday that he will be indeed staying with the New York Yankees and will not opt out of his contract, which still has three years left on it.

He said in a statement about the decision to stay put, "It was a simple decision for me as I have truly enjoyed the past four years playing for this organization...I'm committed to our goal of bringing a World Series championship back."

Tanaka just turned 29 on Wednesday, and was 13-12 with a 4.74 ERA, surprisingly high, as this is the first season where his ERA has jumped up. He also allowed 35 home runs, which is a career-high and was on the DL for nearly two weeks in August due to right shoulder inflammation. In his last seven starts after that, he was 5-2.

During the playoffs, he fared better, going 2-1 with a 0.90 ERA and 18 strikeouts, but couldn't get the Yankees over eventual champion Houston Astros.

That brings Tanaka's record to 52-28 with the Yankees and has gotten plenty of rest from the Yankees since the 2014 season when he discovered he had a partially torn ligament.

So while Tanaka is staying, another team that Tanaka's team beat is also keeping one of its best players.

Michael Brantley, one of the best players this season with the Cleveland Indians, will also not head to the market as the Indians exercised his $11.5 million option for next year, meaning that the Indians have a bigger chance of getting back to the playoffs than without him.

Although Brantley is 30 years old and getting up to veteran status, he hit .299 this season with nine homers and 52 RBIs in 90 games. However, he was also hit the injury bug as he went to the DL twice and had ankle surgery on Oct. 18, after the Indians were eliminated by the Yankees. This comes off an injury-plaqued 2016 where he only played 11 games in 2016 because of a shoulder injury that required surgery.

The Indians also exercised a $3 million option on right-hander Josh Tomlin, so he won't be going anywhere.

Taking on the Tanaka thing for a minute, I think is the smartest move by the Yankees so far in only two days of the offseason. When he's healthy and he's right, he's one of the best pitchers they have. The thing is, like many good pitchers they've had recently, they've been hit with the injury bug, and they usually haven't been the same since, despite them going to the ALCS this year and almost beating the Houston Astros. But they have to do this and I think it's a wise move because pitching is a valuable commodity to them and they need to make sure their guys are locked down for a long-haul. Plus, they have the money to do it.

As for the Brantley, I'm a little bit more surprised they held on to him. I know he played well this year and was a big factor for them in the regular season and the playoffs, but he is not only injury-prone, but he's getting up to an age where your production tends to go down and not up. I'm hoping he can have another good season next season and that won't happen, but when you start to hit 30, don't expect him to be the same guy he was over the last few seasons, when he was one of the best clutch hitters in baseball.

For the Yankees, it's a wise move because they need to lock down their pitching, at least for next season, where they could win the World Series again. For the Indians, it might be questionable to keep Brantley, just based on age, but I always say that age is just a number, and Bartolo Colon was one of the few people that did it. But it tells one thing: They're not on the market and they'll be with their teams, at least for next season, and I think that keeps him in the picture for the postseason in the near future.