The last several Major League Baseball offseasons have seen an intriguing free agent come over from Japan's professional baseball league, Nippon Professional Baseball.

Prior to the 2024 season, it was eventual World Series MVP, and starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, (Los Angeles Dodgers); Before 2025, it was starting pitcher/reliever Roki Sasaki (Dodgers); last offseason, it was third basemen Munetaka Murakami (Chicago White Sox) and Kazuma Okamoto (Toronto Blue Jays).

There will be several potential free agents who could come over from NPB this offseason, and the Seattle Mariners are reportedly interested in at least one of them.

According to a post on "X" from Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo), the Mariners were one of several teams with scouts in attendance for a game between the Saitama Seibu Lions and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters on Tuesday in Japan.

Seattle, along with the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres and White Sox, were there to watch Lions starting pitcher Kaima Taira, who pitched seven innings, struck out nine batters and averaged 97.3 miles per hour on his fastball in Seibu's 3-1 win.

Taira has a 1.46 ERA this season and has fanned 109 batters in 117 innings pitched across 19 starts. His 1.46 ERA leads the NPB.

On the surface, it might seem curious why the Mariners would opt to scout a starting pitcher considering the reputation of their major league starting rotation, with another top 100 pitching prospect, Ryan Sloan, waiting in the wings in the minor leagues.

Here's a breakdown of Taira's background and how Seattle could use him:

For the last several trade deadlines, the Mariners have found themselves attempting to find bullpen help. The team has acquired relievers to varying results, but Taira could be that quintessential high-leverage arm Seattle has been seeking.

Despite being used as a starting pitcher this season, Taira has experience moving from the rotation to bullpen and vice versa.

Two-time All-Star closer Andres Munoz hasn't posted his typical numbers this season. He has a 4.28 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 48.1 innings of work across 51 outings and has 24 saves in 32 opportunities.

Munoz is under team control for two more seasons, with Seattle having an $8.75 million club option for 2027 and a $10 million club option for 2028.

Having Taira in the bullpen would give the Mariners consistent options for the closer role and take the pressure of Munoz and Matt Brash. It would also allow Seattle to relax some of the pressure on the starting staff as well.

Taira seems to possess genuine major-league ready stuff with his upper-90s fastball and and a vast arsenal that has drawn comparisons to Shohei Ohtani. Among the most prominent offerings in Taira's repertoire, aside from his fastball, are the cutter and slider. Taira's walk-rate as a starter this season (nine percent) and strikeout rate (23.4%) would also be around the average for a starter in the MLB.

As mentioned before, Seattle doesn't have an immediate need for a starter, and the consensus is split on whether or not Taira's arsenal would play better in the rotation or the bullpen.

However, multiple factors could lead the Mariners to benefit from having the option of moving Taira from the bullpen to the rotation.

For one — injures. As recently as 2025, Seattle had to go multiple starters into its minor leagues to make it through the season due to injuries suffered by Logan Evans, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller.

This year, Miller had a delayed start to the season because of injury.

Having Taira in the fold would allow the M's to be flexible. He could start as a bullpen arm but be ready to ramp up into the rotation should disaster strike.

Gilbert will enter his fourth and final year of arbitration in 2027 and will be a free agent following that season. Kirby isn't too far behind and is set to hit free agency after the 2028 season.

The Mariners and Gilbert have already had discussions on a possible extension in the past and, amidst trade rumors earlier this season, Kirby reaffirmed his position that he wants to remain with Seattle.

However, given the talent of both players and how they're viewed across the major leagues, it's unlikely the Mariners will be able to re-sign both to long term deals.

Taira could help serve as a replacement option should one or both leave in the future.

Taira would definitely be a pitcher who the Mariners would benefit in having. The versatility to be either a reliever or a starter is a trait that's rare, and would have helped Seattle at several points this season alone.

However, the Mariners haven't had the best track record in recent years with Japanese free agents. The team reportedly had interest in Sasaki, Murakami and Okamoto. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto even publicly confirmed the team's interest in Sasaki at 2024 MLB Winter meetings, but they weren't able to make a serious push to sign either of the three.

There's also the issue of the ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations between the MLB and MLB Players Association, which could impact free agent and contract extension negotiations, especially if it results in a lockout, as many analysts believe it will.

But, Seattle having scouts in Japan shows that the 5-foot-8 hurler is on the team's radar, and it will be worth monitoring whether the Mariners are legitimately interested or if this is simply a case of due diligence on a good player.

The Mariners are 64-70 and 2.5 games back in the American League West.