*This is a prediction*
When it comes to the Japanese baseball players that have been posted and have the ability to sign with an MLB team this free agency period, Kona Takahashi hasn’t been discussed as much as other notable names like Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, or Tatsuya Imai, but he should still gain interest and make an impact upon signing.
The one team that makes sense to sign Kona Takahashi is the New York Yankees.
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New York Yankees Sign Kona Takahashi
If the New York Yankees want to get back to being fully considered contenders, they are going to need to advance their pitching for the upcoming 2026 MLB season. Getting Gerrit Cole back from his Tommy John surgery will help, but he isn’t expected back until later in the 2026 MLB season. They also will be without Clarke Schmidt for the start of the season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, and Nestor Cortes might miss the entire 2026 season as he suffered a setback with his biceps injury during recovery.
This leaves really only Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, and Luis Gil as the pitchers for New York, and while they are good, the Yankees need more pitching talent to keep their rotation production stable to start the season.
This is where the Yankees could turn to signing Kona Takahashi for the pitching help. Entering the season at 29 years old, Takahashi provides stabilizing play as he played in the NPB for 11 seasons. He is coming off a season in which he had a 2.95 ERA, 13.8% strikeout rate, and 6.9% walk rate.
Right now, Kona Takahashi doesn’t have the upside to be an elite pitcher, as he doesn’t have the consistent strikeout ability, but he can provide the Yankees with the pitching depth they need to round out the rotation, while also being a potential relief pitcher as well.
This signing of Kona Takahashi would be a cost-effective move for the Yankees as they can get more pitching talent on the roster without having to make a blockbuster trade.