Masahiro Tanaka posted: Yankees, Dodgers, Angels reported as finalists to land Tanaka

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Three teams have emerged as favorites to land prized Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, who flew back to Japan on Saturday after a brief sojourn to the United States, according to a report from Sports Hochi, a Japanese news outlet.

With third baseman Alex Rodriguez officially suspended for the entire 2014 campaign, the Yankees boast considerably more financial flexibility than they would've had, and have been linked to the 25-year-old for some time now.  Reportedly eager to avoid the $189-million luxury tax threshold, the Yankees' current 2014 payroll amounts to roughly $155 million, a number that will rise after raises are calculated for  arbitration-eligible players.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, are reportedly prepared to go "all out" to sign the highly-coveted right-hander, who earned his second career Sawamura Award in 2013 after posting a 1.27 ERA and a perfect 24-0 record over 212 innings with Nippon's Rakuten Golden Eagles.  However, the spendthrift club has already committed more than $206 million towards their 2014 payroll and have already augmented their rotation this offseason, signing veteran righty Dan Haren to a one-year deal.

The Angels, however, remain desperate for starting pitching and haven't brokered any particularly expensive deals this offseason -- the biggest contract they handed out went to reliever Joe Smith, who signed a three-year, $15-million deal -- possibly freeing up some money for the former Nippon Star.