Astros snag Tatsuya Imai on a surprise deal, leaving Chicago empty-handed again. The Cubs miss a prime opportunity on a sought-after international arm.
For most of the offseason, the belief was that the Chicago Cubs would be finalists for Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai. Some analysts even believed the Cubs were going to land the 27-year-old right-hander.
With Imai’s posting window closing on January 2nd at 5 PM ET, his decision was expected to come sometime in the early part of the new year.
Unfortunately, the Cubs have come up short once again on a big-time free agent.
According to Jeff Passan, the Houston Astros have agreed to a multi-year contract with Imai. It is a three-year contract worth $63 million with opt-outs after the 2026 and 2027 seasons. He also gets $54 million guaranteed in the deal.
The Cubs always seem to be in on some of the top free agents, but they never land any of them. After seeing that Imai only got a three-year contract with opt-outs after each year, it is a bit surprising that he did not land with Chicago.
This is the type of contract that the Cubs should have been all over in free agency. They wouldn’t have to commit long-term money to a pitcher that has some question marks coming over from Japan, and this could have turned into a one-year deal with an opt-out set after the 2026 season.
But the Cubs continue to let other teams outbid them for players. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Chicago was involved in the Imai sweepstakes.
The front office might not have been comfortable enough to give Imai a contract that maxes out at around $63 million over three years. That $21 million per season is the third-largest annual average value from a Japanese pitcher coming over to the Majors.
Considering Imai was projected to receive a $150 million contract earlier this offseason, settling for only $63 million gave the Cubs the perfect opportunity to land him in free agency. That is the type of contract Chicago should have absolutely done.
Instead, the Cubs miss out on another big-time free agent.
With Imai now officially off the board, the front office has to get back to work. The Cubs could still use a frontline starting pitcher in their rotation, and they could now revisit contract talks with pitchers like Zac Gallen.
If there is a silver lining to missing out on Imai, the Cubs should remain in play for All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman. The North Siders were never going to acquire both Imai and Bregman this offseason.
So, the Cubs should stay in the running for Bregman after missing out on Imai.