Business in the Major League Baseball pitching market is about to pick up and the Toronto Blue Jays could be poised to be in the middle of the action. Masahiro Tanaka has touched down in the United States and the courting of the Rakuten Golden Eagles stud pitcher has begun in earnest by a bevy of MLB teams interested in the Japanese ace. The posting fee for Tanaka to be paid to Rakuten is $20 million and the pitcher himself is expected to garner a deal in the six-year, $100 million range. Early speculation has the Arizona Diamondbacks as the key suitor for Tanakas services, but the usual suspects like the New York Yankees and teams looking to rebuild like the Chicago Cubs are also said to be heavily interested. The Jays, who went hard after, but ultimately lost out on Yu Darvish to the Texas Rangers in 2012, are believed to be interested in Tanaka, but arent considered a serious contender for the 24-year-old who went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last season in the Japanese League. Still, Tanakas impending arrival is of great interest to Alex Anthopoulos and the rest of the Blue Jays management. Once Tanaka signs, the floodgates are expected to open on the MLB pitching market from both a free agency and trade perspective. Tanaka will be the first domino to drop on what could be a very busy next few weeks in the baseball offseason and the Jays are expected to, and need to, be active. With options expanding, who should the Jays target to shore up their rotation heading into 2014? If the Jays were to stand pat going into spring training, their rotation would likely be made up of R.A. Dickey, Brandon Morrow, Mark Buehrle, J.A. Happ and a fifth man from a pool of candidates including Marcus Stroman, Todd Redmond, Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison. While by no means a poor rotation, the need to bolster it is obvious if they want to compete for a playoff spot. The free agent avenue presents a few intriguing options. Ubaldo Jimenez is coming off a fine 2013 with the Cleveland Indians, posting a 13-9 record with 182.2 IP, a 3.30 ERA and a WHIP of 1.33. Jimenez, soon to turn 30, is no longer the power pitcher he was with the Colorado Rockies, but has compensated for his loss of velocity by relying on his slider and splitter more frequently. Ervin Santana was acquired by the Kansas City Royals last winter from the Los Angeles Angels and slipped into their new-look rotation behind James Shields. Santana, 31, went 9-10 with 211 IP, a 3.28 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Santana can likely be counted on for more innings pitched than Jimenez, but has struggled with giving up home runs over the course of his career, something that will be taken into account considering the Rogers Centres reputation as a long ball stadium. Matt Garza is no stranger to the AL East. Having spent three seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, Garza has an impressive career record at Rogers Centre. In seven career starts in the park, Garza has 1.36 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Obviously, thats an incredibly small sample size and he was pitching against the Jays during those starts, but it is an encouraging sign. Garza split last season between the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers and didnt exactly light the world on fire in 2013, pitching only 151.3 innings thanks to continuing elbow problems, but with a respectable 3.82 ERA and 1.32 WHIP, going 10-6. There is a prevailing idea that the asking price on all three starters has dropped as free agency has gone on, but none of the three will come cheap. All are expected to fetch multi-year deals in the $14-16 million range. Signing any of the trio represents a significant investment by the club, but likely a necessary one. Lesser free agents are also available, but the likes of Bronson Arroyo, Tommy Hanson or Jason Hammel wouldnt appreciably improve the Jays current corps. On the trade front, the Jays have been repeatedly attached in rumours to Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija. Samardzija, the 28-year-old former Notre Dame wide receiver, represents a high-risk, high-reward proposition for the Jays. A hard-throwing fastballer, Samardzija has eclipsed the 200 IP plateau in one of his two full seasons as a starter and doesnt have any significant injury history. The potential in Samardzija is obvious, but so is the cost. Having traded a significant number of key assets last season in the acquisition of Dickey and the blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins, Anthopoulos would be loath to once again mortgage any part of the future. The Cubs dont need to move Samardzija and, as such, are asking for massive return. The Jays would likely have to part with two or more of their high-end prospects among Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Roberto Osuna and Daniel Norris. Other names have been bandied about in terms of being available, including Tampa Bays David Price and Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies, but those options are more along the lines of pipe dreams. With a payroll already over the $100 million mark, management isnt keen on overpaying for a free agent disaster and last years big trades and the movement of young assets didnt bring the expected dividends. Anthopoulos must act prudently going forward, knowing that the benefit of the doubt isnt as easy to come by as it might have been before from both ownership and the fans. Still, in order for tangible improvement to happen, moves need to be made. But which avenue is preferable? Of all of the possible options on the table, how would you go about bolstering the Toronto Blue Jays rotation for 2014? As always, its Your! Call. Steve Largent Youth Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Chris Carson Youth Jersey . 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Michael Dickson Seahawks Jersey .Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times.CLEVELAND -- Only hours before this seasons home opener, the Indians guaranteed Jason Kipnis will be around for more than a few more. The All-Star second baseman agreed to a $52.5 million, six-year contract on Friday, binding him to the Indians through the 2019 season. The deal includes a club option for 2020. Kipnis signed the contract one day after turning 27, giving him a birthday gift of wealth and security hell never forget. "Its an amazing feeling to get something done," said Kipnis. "I wanted to stay here. Im excited about being here." Kipnis is the latest core player to be signed to a long-term deal by the Indians, who reached agreements with outfielder Michael Brantley (4 years, $25 million) and catcher Yan Gomes (6 years, $23 million) in the past two months. "Its the ownership, the top, showing us that they believe in us, that weve got the guys who can win games now and we want them stick around," Kipnis said. "Im excited about be a part of that." Kipnis had already signed a one-year deal worth $554,900 in the major leagues and $305,700 in the minors. The new deal calls for a $1 million signing bonus and salaries of $2 million this year, $4 million in 2015, $6 million in 2016, $9 million in 2017, $13.5 million in 2018 and $14.5 million in 2019. The Indians option for 2020 is at $16.5 million with a $2.5 million buyout. He gets a hotel suite on road trips. And he would get a $500,000 payment if hes traded. Kipnis agreement covers this season, all three of his arbitration-eligible years and extends through at least the first two seasons after he could have become a free agent. The Indians and Kipnis agents had been negotiating a deal for months. "This was our third attempt at it, so its good to finally be able to get it done," general manager Chris Antonetti said . "Its a complicated thing. You have to figure out what the right value is, what the appropriate way is to share risk, and this was the time we were able to do it." Kipnis developed into one of the ALs rising staars last season, batting .dddddddddddd284 with 17 homers and 84 RBIs in 149 games. He also stole 30 bases, scored 86 runs and led the Indians in runs, hits, RBIs and steals. Kipnis has endeared himself to the Indians, manager Terry Francona and Cleveland fans with his hustling, win-at-all-costs playing style. That grit on display Wednesday night in the ninth inning in Oakland, when after twice failing to move two runners over with a bunt, Kipnis beat out a fielders choice, stole second and scored the go-ahead run as the Indians rallied for a 6-4 win in the second game of a doubleheader. "That was Kip in a bottle," Francona said. "Thats the way Kip plays. Youd see a lot of guys maybe not get the bunt down, strike out, get mad because we asked him to bunt and we lose." After going 92-70 last season and making the AL playoffs for the first time since 2007, the Indians have shown a strong commitment to winning -- now. That hasnt always been the case in Cleveland, where fans have seen the front office trade star pitchers CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee before they could leave as free agents. These new deals, coming a year after the Indians signed free agents Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn to multiyear contracts, are a signal the club intends to compete for a championship. "Its so awesome," Swisher said. "This is not a one-and-done organization anymore. The moves that were making are all the right moves." The signings, too, have changed outside perception of the Indians, who havent won a World Series title since 1948. "When I was on other teams in coming to Cleveland, if you didnt sweep, it was a bad road trip," said Swisher, who previously played with the Yankees, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. "For us now, people are realizing that when you come in here, were going to fight for it. I think last years record speaks for itself, but that wasnt our goal, to go out and have one great, amazing season and then just fall off. Everything is going in the right direction." ' ' '