Rakuten Eagles right-hander Masahiro Tanaka had surgery on his throwing arm and will require four months before returning to duty, the Pacific League club said Wednesday.
The 35-year-old former New York Yankee, who went 7-11 with a 4.91 ERA in 24 games this season, underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean out his elbow in late October, the Eagles said.
"I had surgery to be fully ready for next season," Tanaka said on his YouTube channel. "If things go smoothly, I can participate in normal training without any restrictions from the start of spring camp."
Tanaka was the Eagles' Opening Day pitcher but was up and down during his third year back at his former club, remaining three shy of 200 wins in a career split between Japan and MLB.
He played seven seasons for Rakuten through 2013 and another seven with the Yankees, going 78-46 in the major leagues. Tanaka has gone 20-32 in his three seasons since returning to the Eagles.
