Masahiro Tanaka: “I’m very happy to be a Yankee.”

With spring training just a few days away, the Yankees finally had the chance to unveil their big, $155 million signing in Masahiro Tanaka Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, in front of more than 200 media members.

The press conference was the largest media gathering that the Yankees have hosted since introducing Hideki Matsui in 2003, surpassing Alex Rodriguez's presser in 2003.

“This is big, this is something I was thinking as I drove in today, this would make The Boss proud,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “This is Yankee big, this is Steinbrenner big. We’re really excited to welcome the newest Yankee, officially, to the family.”

Donning his new No. 19 jersey for the first time, Tanaka opened up by saying, in English, “Hello, my name is Masahiro Tanaka, I’m very happy to be a Yankee.”

The rest for the press conference was done through his translator.

Tanaka, a 24-year-old right-hander that when 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA in Japan with the Rakuten Golden Eagles last season, said that his main goal with the Yankees is to win a championship.

“I’m very much looking forward to playing in that environment,” Tanaka said, referring the the Yankees-Red Sox games that he said he has watched on TV.

He added: “I’ve heard this place could be very harsh to you at times. I just wanted to see where I can get to with my ability.”

Though Tanaka wouldn't comment on the bids of other teams, it's pretty obvious that the Yankees' bid of $155 million over seven-years was greater than that of the other bidders. Adding in his $20 million posting fee, the Yankees are spending $175 million on the guy.

"We needed another quality starter," general manager partner Hal Steinbrenner said. "Tanaka is one of the greatest in the history of Japan."

He'll now be joining that rotation, likely as the No. 3 starter, behind guys like CC Sabathia and fellow countryman Hiroki Kuroda.

Last week, Cashman said on ESPN Radio that Tanaka could be a very solid No. 3 starter.

Steinbrenner was asked if that would be worth the $155 million.

"It is a projection," Steinbrenner said.

“He was a player that we covered, and I am thankful as a manager Hal and his family opened their pocketbooks for us to be able to sign Masahiro." Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He’s a great pitcher, and he obviously is here with us for a long time, and we’re very, very excited.”

Tanaka will join the Yankees in Tampa by Friday, when pitchers and catchers are due to report, with the first workout happening on Saturday.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog, and you can follow him on Twitter (below).

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Carlos Beltran excited to finally be playing in pinstripes

In 2005, Carlos Beltran told the Yankees he wanted to play for them. There was no room on the roster, so he instead signed a seven-year deal with the New York Mets.

Eight years later, his dreams of playing in pinstripes have finally come true. The Yankees officially introduce Beltran Friday at Yankee Stadium after signing him to a three-year, $45 million contract, one week after Jacoby Ellsbury's presser.

"Having the opportunity to come back again [to New York] really means a lot to me," Beltran said on Friday. "I grew up being a Yankees fan. I grew up being a Bernie Williams fan. As a player — and first of all, as a fan — I used to look up to this organization. They always did what it takes to put good teams out there and win championships."

The Yankees added Beltran, who will wear No. 36 with the Bronx, two weeks ago, right after Robinson Cano signed with the Seattle Mariners.

"This is someone that has always wanted to be a Yankee," general manager Brian Cashman said.

The Yankees have been courting Beltran earlier in the offseason, but talks with the three-time all-star seemed to slow down he was looking for a three-year deal, and the Yanks were only willing to offer two-years. Once the Kansas City Royals joined the race, and another team put a $48 million offer on the team, the Yanks gave him the third year.

Beltran, 36, played for the Mets from 2005-11, when he was dealt to San Francisco. He signed a two-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 2012 season, and reached his first World Series with St. Louis this past October, losing to the Boston Red Sox in six games.

"It's gonna be fun, no doubt about it," Beltran said. "I have good memories in Queens and all I have to say about the Mets is just a lot of good things. I was fortunate to play in a good organization, being able to be around good people. And you know, it’s gonna be different, no doubt about it. At the end of the day, we're gonna go out, we're gonna play, we're gonna try to win.

"That's our job as ballplayers. The reaction is gonna be different. Some are gonna cheer, some are gonna boo, but at the end of the day I'm there to play baseball."

Beltran hit .296 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs for the Cardinals this year, and added two homers and 15 RBIs in the postseason -- a place he hopes to go to with the Yankees.

"I'm really looking forward to October with our new player, Carlos Beltran." said Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

Beltran will be joining a now crowed Yankees outfield with Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki, Vernon Wells and Alfonso Soriano. However, Ichiro and Wells might not be on the roster on Opening Day, unless the Yanks decide to trade Gardner, which they say isn't happening.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Beltran, the Yankees designated right-handed pitcher Brett Marshall for assignment.

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Yankees officially announced Carlos Beltran signing

It's official, Carlos Beltran is a New York Yankee. It's been a couple of weeks since the initial news broke that the Yankees had reached an agreement on a three-year, $45 million deal with Beltran.

The Yanks will hold a press conference to introduce Beltran Friday morning at 11am EST at Yankee Stadium.

Beltran will be the sixth outfielder on the Yankees' roster, joining Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells. Most likely, one -- maybe two -- of those six outfielders will not be on the Opening Day roster. Wells and Ichiro seem to be the two odd men out.

Beltran, a lifetime .283 hitter with 358 home runs in 16 big-league seasons, the past two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, figures to spend most of his time in right field and as the DH.

To make room on the 40-roster, the Yankees had to designate Brett Marshall for assignment. Marshall spent most of his year in Triple-A Scranton Triple-A where he posted a 5.13 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 25 starts.

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Brian Cashman speaks to the media at Winter Meetings

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman didn't get a chance to speak with members of the media on Monday because he didn't get into Orlando until late in the day, but he finally found some time on day 2 of the Winter Meeting from Lake Buena Vista. Here is a quick gist of what he had to say:

-- Cashman says that he has contacted free-agent third baseman Kevin Youkilis to gauge his interest in re-signing with the Yankees. Youkilis said that he was gracious for the call, but would much rather sign with a team closer to his home in California.

Youkilis only played 28 games for the Yankees in 2013 after signing a one-year, $12 million deal.

He was suppose to be the backup plan for Alex Rodriguez, but back problems forced him to the disabled list, and the man that people will always see as a Red Sock, did not leave a good impression on the Yankees.

-- Boone Logan and Mark Reynolds are also free-agents this offseason after playing for the Yanks last season. Cashman said that he has stayed in contact with both of those players.

The Yanks have a need at third base, and a right-hander with power would bode well for the lineup. He signed with the team in August and played well enough for the Cashman to want him back.

Logan has been to lefty-specialist with the team for the past few seasons, and he ran into some elbow troubles late in the season, and his now a free-agent that has been drawing interest from a handful of teams.

The Yankees are still looking for a pitcher like Logan, and he will be an option to bring back if they can't find anyone else.

-- Team president Randy Levine said earlier in the day that the Yankees are not shopping Brett Gardner, and Cashman said pretty much the same thing, but also says that they are still listening to offers.

“We have an obligation to hear what anybody’s interest happens to be,” Cashman said.

Cashman also says that while he is getting a lot of calls on Gardner, teams have also been calling about Ivan Nova, J.R. Murphy and Gary Sanchez, among others.

-- Cashman thinks that newly signed Kelly Johnson is an option to start at second or third base next season.

“He’s more of a bat than a defender,” Cashman said. “… But there’s a comfort level knowing that we have an improved depth situation there that gives us some flexibility.”

He said that Yankees would like to make even more moves to improve the depth of the infield, but those might not come until later in the offseason or even Spring Training.

-- The Yankees are still looking to add at least one more starting pitcher, but because both the free-agent market and trade market aren't very strong, Cashman doesn't know where they might find a starter.

“We certainly could sign a free agent starter,” Cashman said. “Signing one might be easier than trading for one, we're just trying to find the right one.”

Of course, Masahiro Tanaka would be an option for the Yankees is he's posted, and Cashman says he hasn't heard anything on his situation.

-- Michael Pineda, who hasn't thrown a single pitch for the Yankees since being acquired before Spring Training in 2012, is finally healthy and will come to camp ready to compete for a spot in the rotation, according to Cashman.

Manny Banuelos is also healthy, but the chances of him breaking camp on the big league roster are pretty slim. “Our expectation would be that he would be in Triple-A,” Cashman said.

-- Cashman also noted that Joe Torre, who was voted into the Hall of Fame Monday, will most certainly have his number No. 6 retired by the club eventually.

“We haven’t given it out for a reason,” Cashman said. “It’s been tucked away for quite some time. At some point, that’ll happen, not doubt about it. Clearly it’s has already unofficially happened.”

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Yankees officially announce Brian McCann signing

The Yankees' first big move of the offseason will be put on display for all on Thursday at Yankee Stadium, as the Yanks have scheduled a press conference to introduce newly signed catcher Brian McCann, whose signing was officially announced by the club Tuesday.

McCann's deal with the Yankees is for $85 million over five-years, with a vesting option for a sixth year that could bring the total value to $100 million. The agreement was first reported over a week ago, but became official after McCann passed a physical.

The deal will provide the Yankees with some much needed power in the lineup, as McCann has hit at least 20 homeruns in each of the past six seasons, all with the Atlanta Braves. The seven-time All-Star has also led all Major League catchers in homeruns since 2005.

"The singular and unwavering desire of this organization is to construct a team each and every season designed to play meaningful baseball deep into October," Yankees managing general partner and co-chairperson Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement.

"In Brian McCann, we feel we have made a significant improvement to a key position, while adding a high-character presence to our clubhouse. Our work this offseason has just begun, but we feel this is an important step towards what will be an exciting and rewarding 2014 season for our fans."

The Yankees did not set a specific time for the press conference, but it can be seen live in the YES Network.

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