Masahiro Tanaka has declined the opt-out in his contract with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the NPB.

Tanaka had a 3.01 ERA with a 20.19% strikeout rate and a 4.65% walk rate over 155 2/3 innings with the Eagles this past season.

He returned to Japan after his seven-year, $155 million deal with the New York Yankees expired after the 2020 season.