The Cubs passed on Shota Imanaga, but signing Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai could be the move that reshapes their rotation and restores faith in Jed Hoyer’s offseason plan.
There’s pressure on the Chicago Cubs to make big moves this offseason. The club is already catching heat for declining the option on starting pitcher Shota Imanaga and seemingly bowing out of the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes before it even began.
On the surface, it looks bad. But until the offseason is complete, criticism of Jed Hoyer and Cubs ownership might be a little premature. Chicago can still find ways to improve without bringing back Imanaga or landing Tucker. To do that, though, they’ll need to be aggressive on the open market—spending big on players who are even better fits than the ones they’ve let go.
Championship teams are built on balance. Sometimes it’s about star power, but often it’s about finding the right combination of parts—talent, age, and fit—that make the machine run. And for the Cubs, one of those potential pieces might be coming from overseas: Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai.
The Player
Imai, 27, is a right-handed starting pitcher who was recently posted by the Saitama Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
He’s spent eight seasons in the NPB—all with the same club—and 2025 was his best yet. Imai posted a 1.92 ERA over 163.2 innings, featuring a fastball that touches 97 mph and a devastating slider with 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 a balanced, swing-and-miss arsenal.
More importantly, Imai keeps traffic off the bases. He walked just 2.5 batters per nine innings last season and recorded a 0.89 WHIP, both career bests. He’s undersized but durable, and his command and pitch mix give him the profile of a mid-rotation starter who could quickly outperform that label.
Gaijin Baseball/外国人野球 (@GaijinBaseball) on X
The Saitama Seibu Lions have announced that they will be posting their ace, Tatsuya Imai.
Imai was arguably the best pitcher in NPB last year, and also threw the best game by any pitcher in 2025
The Contract
Because Imai is 27 with multiple professional seasons under his belt, he qualifies as a true free agent under MLB rules—meaning he isn’t limited by international bonus pool restrictions. He can negotiate with any team for any amount over a 45-day window.
Early projections have Imai landing somewhere between $150 and $160 million. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden predicted a seven-year, $154 million deal, while others see a shorter six-year pact worth around $150 million. Given the demand for frontline pitching, either scenario seems realistic.
The Fit
The fit in Chicago is undeniable. Imai would be a younger, more reliable version of Shota Imanaga—and as a right-hander, he’d help balance a Cubs rotation that already leans left-heavy with Justin Steele and Matthew Boyd.
The Cubs likely hesitated on Imanaga’s option because of age, fading peripherals, and some lingering health concerns. None of those apply to Imai. He’d slide perfectly into the No. 3 spot behind Steele and Cade Horton, forming one of the most intriguing young rotations in the National League.
While Imai has long been viewed as a dependable middle-rotation arm, his 2025 numbers suggest legitimate ace potential. He ranked top two in the NPB in WHIP, FIP, strikeout rate, home runs allowed per nine, and opposing batting average.
A five-year deal would take him through his age-31 season—still firmly within his prime.
The Verdict
The Cubs should be all over this one. But competition will be fierce. The Yankees and Giants are already reportedly interested, and both have money to spend.
If Jed Hoyer and the Cubs want to truly improve this offseason, this is the kind of move they’ll need to make. The goal can’t just be saving money or maintaining flexibility—it has to be finding players who raise the team’s ceiling.
It’s fine to move on from Kyle Tucker or decline Shota Imanaga’s option if the front office believes those contracts weren’t ideal fits. But those decisions have to be followed by splashier, bolder additions.
The Cubs can’t win the offseason with caution. They’ll have to outspend, out-identify, and out-execute the rest of the market. Tatsuya Imai should be near the top of that list. Whether they can win the bidding war is another story—but this is exactly the kind of move that could define Chicago’s 2026 season.