{"id":491756,"date":"2025-12-24T04:00:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T04:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/491756\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T04:00:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T04:00:27","slug":"tatsuya-imai-signs-with-yankees-and-4-other-landing-spots-after-new-rumors-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/491756\/","title":{"rendered":"Tatsuya Imai Signs with Yankees, and 4 Other Landing Spots After New Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tatsuya Imai will likely receive a big contract from the 2025 MLB free agency class. Imai is one of the best starting pitchers left on the market; however, there is a difference between him and the others. The Japanese ace only has until January 2, 2026, to negotiate with MLB teams.<\/p>\n

The Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball announced in mid-November that Imai was allowed to be posted into MLB free agency<\/a>. Therefore, MLB teams have a window of opportunity to sign Imai to a contract. Now, time is starting to run out with 2026 almost around the corner.<\/p>\n

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Below, we dive into five potential landing spots for Imai as new MLB rumors swirl during the 2026 offseason.<\/p>\n

New York Yankees\"New<\/p>\n

Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

The New York Yankees<\/a> need another starting pitcher, and Imai would be the perfect fit. In fact, New York is expected to be one of the finalists to sign the Japanese superstar<\/a> before January 2, 2026. The Yankees need to keep up in the AL East, as the other four teams have delivered during the offseason. Imai would thrive in New York and get him into a big market.<\/p>\n

Chicago Cubs\"Best<\/p>\n

Apr 3, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of Chicago Cubs hats and gloves in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the fifth inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

The Chicago Cubs<\/a> also need a starting pitcher, and they have done well in the Japanese market. Chicago has some depth in its rotation, but it isn\u2019t very top-heavy as of right now. The Cubs need an ace pitcher to guide them through the regular season and postseason. It will be Imai\u2019s first season in MLB; however, he should be a great option for teams looking for a top starter.<\/p>\n

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Baltimore Orioles\"Baltimore<\/p>\n

Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

The Baltimore Orioles<\/a> have been very aggressive this offseason, and pitching is the next step. Baltimore traded for starting pitcher Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays, but it needs another arm to solidify the rotation moving forward. The Orioles are not done making big additions yet, and Imai could be next, following the organization\u2019s signing of Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year contract last year.<\/p>\n

San Francisco Giants\"\"<\/p>\n

The San Francisco Giants<\/a> continue to look for starting pitching, but it is unclear if they will dive deep into Imai\u2019s services. San Francisco has hovered around .500 over the last few seasons, and it needs an influx of talent to make the jump back into the MLB postseason. Imai would help solidify the rotation and give the Giants a great pitcher alongside Logan Webb and Robbie Ray.<\/p>\n

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New York Mets\"New<\/p>\n

Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

The New York Mets<\/a> must find a way to add more talent to its MLB roster. New York lost Pete Alonso<\/a> and Edwin Diaz<\/a> in free agency, which was a major blow to the organization\u2019s starting lineup and bullpen. The Mets entered the 2025 offseason needing to add a starting pitcher, and Imai could help kick-start a team that missed the postseason last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tatsuya Imai will likely receive a big contract from the 2025 MLB free agency class. Imai is one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2374],"tags":[191,46,143,47,2538,5,24,1087,112,4,1690,61,62,2353,125,74,1822,378,66,5144,5168,68,4658,775],"class_list":{"0":"post-491756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-orioles","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-braves","10":"tag-baltimore","11":"tag-baltimore-orioles","12":"tag-baltimoreorioles","13":"tag-baseball","14":"tag-chicago-cubs","15":"tag-edwin-diaz","16":"tag-logan-webb","17":"tag-mlb","18":"tag-new-york","19":"tag-new-york-mets","20":"tag-new-york-yankees","21":"tag-nippon-professional-baseball","22":"tag-orioles","23":"tag-pete-alonso","24":"tag-robbie-ray","25":"tag-san-francisco","26":"tag-san-francisco-giants","27":"tag-shane-baz","28":"tag-starting-pitchers","29":"tag-tampa-bay-rays","30":"tag-tatsuya-imai","31":"tag-tomoyuki-sugano"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115772550490297479","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}