Tatsuya Imai was a player on the Chicago Cubs’ radar before he agreed to a deal with the Houston Astros, but they were only willing to go so far for the NPB star.
Per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon, the Cubs did not have a high value on Imai after he was posted by the Seibu Lions.
It’s unclear exactly what the Cubs’ offer to Imai was, but MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand noted they were his “most aggressive suitor” after the Astros.
Imai’s deal with Houston came in at three years and up to $63 million with opt outs after each of the first two seasons. It was a surprisingly low figure for the right-hander, who some analysts predicted would get $150 million over six years.
Per ESPN’s Buster Olney, some MLB clubs are skeptical that Imai’s talent will translate to this league.
Even though Imai has shown a strong fastball-slider combination during his NPB career, there are some concerns that could hold him back. He is listed at 5’11” and 154 pounds, per Baseball Reference.
Given Imai’s smaller stature, Sammon noted some MLB talent evaluators have concerns about the movement on his fastball and ability to throw it on a downhill plane.
Imai has also had control issues in NPB with 4.4 walks per nine innings in eight seasons, though he did get that number down to 2.5 in 163.2 innings during the 2025 campaign.
The Cubs haven’t made any major additions to their roster this offseason. They have signed six players, including five relief pitchers. Phil Maton is the only player who has received a multi-year contract (two years, $14.5 million).
Even though Imai is a player with some flaws to his game, he could have potentially helped boost a starting rotation that doesn’t seem to have a lot of depth right now. Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton are the only two members of the starting staff projected to be worth at least two wins above replacement in 2026.