Tatsuya Imai created some waves in a recent interview when he put the crosshairs on Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Los Angeles Dodgers, saying he’d rather beat the reigning back-to-back World Series champions than join them.
“Of course, I’d enjoy playing alongside Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki,” Imai said. “But winning against a team like that and becoming a World Champion would be the most valuable thing in my life. If anything, I’d rather take them down.”
If that’s the only quote you saw, you probably felt pretty good as a Chicago Cubs fan. Taking the Dodgers out of the equation is a decent place to start in your pursuit of a top-tier free agent pitcher. But then, Imai said he wanted to chart his own course in MLB – not defer to a team with an established Japanese presence.
“If there were another Japanese player on the same team, I could just ask them about anything, right?” Imai said. “But that’s actually not what I’m looking for. In a way, I want to experience that sense of survival. When I come face-to-face with cultural differences, I want to see how I can overcome them on my own — that’s part of what I’m excited about.”
New report sounds optimistic for the Chicago Cubs and Tatsuya Imai
Well, so much for that dream, right? Not so fast. On Thursday morning, Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney dropped a rumors roundup and, in it, they level-set on Imai’s comments, pointing out the San Francisco Giants are not likely to seriously pursue the right-hander and noting that his ‘potential preference’ to make his own way on a team without Japanese teammates do not take the Cubs out of the running for his services.
MLB Trade Rumors projects Imai for a six-year, $150 million contract, and ESPN has him down for a six-year, $135 million pact (plus a posting fee). The Cubs were reportedly in the hunt for Dylan Cease right up to the point bidding exceeded $200 million – so Imai falls well within that salary range, lending further hope that Jed Hoyer may be able to land the coveted hurler.
Imai will start meeting with clubs in the weeks to come, once the MLB Winter Meetings wrap up and we’ll know more once that process gets underway. But, at least for the time being, hope remains alive.