Tatsuya Imai will be taking his talents to Major League Baseball after being posted by the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball on Nov. 19. He must sign with an MLB team by Jan. 2.

Imai, a 27-year-old right-hander, will be one of the top pitchers in the market this offseason. He should have plenty of teams interested in landing him, but where will he end up?

Tatsuya Imai Next Team Odds & Favorites

The BetMGM online sportsbook doesn’t offer odds on Imai’s next team, but the usual suspects figure to be the top contenders.

When asked who the frontrunners were on Foul Territory, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic mentioned the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies as teams interested in signing Imai.

Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reported that the Chicago Cubs are expected to be a strong player in Imai’s market.

What I find interesting about the teams mentioned as strong contenders is their location. There are three East Coast teams, while the Cubs hail from the Midwest. In recent years, some NPB players have preferred joining a California team because it’s closer to Japan.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the last two offseasons, meaning they could be in the mix. However, Imai has reportedly suggested he would rather beat the Dodgers than join them.

The San Francisco Giants, meanwhile, are not expected to spend what it takes to sign Imai.

Basically, Imai’s market is still very fluid. If there were odds for his next team, they might be changing too much to keep track. But I’d consider these clubs as the favorites at this point in the offseason:

Phillies
Mets
Yankees
Cubs

Tatsuya Imai Next Team Prediction

As things currently stand, I’m predicting the Phillies will sign Imai this offseason.

Two years ago, the Phillies reportedly outbid the Dodgers for Yamamoto. He ultimately signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers, as he preferred living in Los Angeles. He recently won the World Series MVP award, leading the Dodgers to their second straight championship.

If the Phillies are motivated to land a Japanese ace, they should be willing to spend whatever it takes to win the Imai sweepstakes. He might cost about half as much as it took to ink a deal with Yamamoto.

In addition, if Imai is serious about wanting to defeat the Dodgers, the Phillies are one of his top landing spots. Philadelphia has won 87-plus games for four straight seasons, reaching the NLCS twice and the World Series once over that span.

The Phillies have built a strong rotation, leading the National League with a 3.53 ERA in 2025. They have a track record of getting the most out of their starters, but could do with an infusion of young talent.

Enter Imai, who had a 1.92 ERA and 178 strikeouts in 163 2/3 innings for the Lions in 2025. His four-seam fastball sits in the mid-90s with a lot of horizontal movement from his low-arm slot. He also leans into a slider and a changeup as his secondary offerings.

Imai has plenty of potential as a quality MLB starter. Any team would love to have him, but I’m guessing the Phillies win the sweepstakes this winter.