Padres Reportedly Have Strong Interest In Japanese Starter

The San Diego Padres are rumored to be focused on free agents from the Japanese market, and there’s one in particular who’s become the object of their affection. The Padres need starting pitching even more, which is why they’re being strongly connected to right-hander Kaima Taira, according to a report from Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com. 

There will be competition, however. Taira starred for the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, and he’s reportedly drawing interest from both the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs, with Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chicago being behind that report. 

The Padres also have broader interest in Japanase NPB stars as well. According to Kevin Aceeof the San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego is also pursuing slugger Teruaki Sato and right-hander Hiromi Itoh.

The Blue Jays have also reportedly done extensive scouting and background work on Taira, who isn’t actually traveling to North America to meet with teams but is doing Zoom meetings in advance of possible meetings. The San Francisco Giants also reportedly have interest, but they’re considered a fringe team at this point. 

The interest is understandable. Taira is just 26, and starting pitching is especially lacking in this year’s free agent class, with the market consisting of Tarik Skubal and everybody else. The New York Mets are the favorites to land Skubal, which is why the list of teams that have scouted Taira also included the Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners. 

What they’re seeing is a pitcher who defies stereotypes. Adams compared his 5’9”, 209 pound build to that of catcher Alejandro Kirk, but his velocity sits between 95-97 mph, with the closest other pitcher comp being right-hander Marcus Stroman, who is just 5’8”.

Some teams reportedly want to make Taira a reliever, as he worked out of the bullpen early in his career in the NPB. He was moved to the rotation in 2023 and pitched to a 2.40 ERA over 150 innings, but Taira suffered an injury early in 2024 and he was subsequently moved back to the bullpen. 

This year he was stretched out effectively, but Taira is a Scott Boras client who is strongly interested in being a starter, so that will be the likely focus of his meetings. The Padres certainly have experience handling this sort of situation with some of their relievers, so their interest isn’t exactly surprising.