Imai is the perfect fit for the Chicago's needs this offseason — but the presence of Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga could disqualify the Cubs.
Japanese superstar Tatsuya Imai has just about everything the Chicago Cubs are looking for in free agency.
Coming off his best season yet in the NPB, Imai posted a 1.92 ERA over 163.2 innings. His fastball touches 97 mph, and he pairs it with a devastating slider that generated a 22.6% whiff rate. Opponents hit just .179 against the slider — and an even uglier .137 against his changeup. His splitter, often his out pitch, rounds out the arsenal.
Imai a pitcher with years of pro experience, elite command, a deep bag to keep hitters guessing, and a long future still ahead of him.
And for the Cubs, that's a perfect on-paper match. With Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, and Matthew Boyd slated for the rotation next season, Chicago desperately needs a right-handed starter to balance the group. Cubs fans want a splash addition, and Jed Hoyer has already said the club will focus more on pitching than hitting this winter. Imai looks like the ideal splurge.
…or is he?
Chicago got bad news when Imai essentially ruled out the Cubs in recent comments to the media.
Imai made waves when asked about the Los Angeles Dodgers, saying he had more interest in taking them down than joining them — music to the ears of every fan hoping he’d bring a competitive edge to his new club. Especially NL contenders like Chicago.
“I want to take them down. [Playing together with players like Ohtani, Yamamoto, Sasaki, and others] of course sounds fun, but I think beating a team like that and becoming world champions would be the most valuable thing in my life," said Imai.
Clearly, the 27-year-old right-hander is excited for a challenge. And one of the challenges he specifically mentioned? The cultural leap of coming to the United States.
Imai says that he does not want to sign with a team that already has Japanese players on its roster. He doesn’t want a built-in safety net. He wants to push himself out of his comfort zone.
On the surface, that immediately eliminates the Cubs, who have Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki. And while that’s a pretty frustrating reason to lose out on a premier Japanese free agent, it’s his prerogative.
We’ll see if he sticks to it. Many of the top World Series contenders with the money to meet Imai’s asking price already have Japanese talent in the clubhouse.
The Dodgers have the aforementioned Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki. The Padres have Yuki Matsui and Yu Darvish.
Kodai Senga is with the Mets, Yusei Kikuchi is with the Angels, and Masataka Yoshida is with the Red Sox.
The Orioles and Nationals also have lesser known Japanese players on their roster - Tomoyuki Sugano and Shinnosuke Ogasawara. Still, that appears to be a disqualifier.
That's at least eight teams, and that’s before you factor in other Japanese free agents hitting the market, like Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto — both of whom are negotiating contracts of their own this winter.
If Imai is serious about avoiding teams with Japanese players, Chicago may have no choice but to pivot to another right-handed starter in free agency.
I’m not sure there’s a better fit on the market — but the Cubs may not get a say in the matter.