Cubs, several other teams submit offers to Masahiro Tanaka

Apr 8, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein meets with the press prior to a game between the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Multiple reports indicate that within the next three days, we will finally learn where Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka will begin his Major League career. With that in mind, the Cubs are among those teams hoping to land his services.

The Cubs, White Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Diamondbacks are all believed to have submitted offers to the 25-year-old and the deals are expected to be somewhere in the neighborhood of six years and $120 million.

According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago, the Cubs are rumored to be willing to go as high as six-to-eight years with an annual value of roughly $25 million – far above Tanaka’s anticipated AAV of $17 million.

Reports regarding the Cubs and Tanaka have varied widely over the course of the last 72 hours, ranging from Chicago being the “front runner” to a “long-shot.”

Although Cubs Convention was this past weekend, the next week could prove to be more exciting, should Epstein and Hoyer manage to land Tanaka. That being said, it could also prove to be the latest letdown for Cubs fans, including rooftop owners blocking the renovation of Wrigley Field, a very quiet offseason and several disappointing seasons

Signing Tanaka also could have a major impact in signing a contract extension with right-hander Jeff Samardzija, who has made it clear of late that such a move would have a major impact on his desire to talk about an extension with Chicago.