Seibu Lions pitcher Tatsuya Imai, posted to MLB on November 19, 2025, expressed a desire to compete against the Los Angeles Dodgers rather than join them. The 27-year-old right-hander, fresh off a standout 2025 season, aims to test his skills against stars like Shohei Ohtani. Interest from teams including the New York Yankees highlights his appeal in the free agency market.
Tatsuya Imai, the ace of Japan's Seibu Lions, entered MLB free agency through the posting system on November 19, 2025, opening a 45-day window that closes on January 2, 2026. In an interview on Japan's TV Asahi show "Hodo Station" with former MLB pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, Imai made clear his competitive stance toward the Dodgers, who boast Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki.
"Of course, I’d enjoy playing alongside Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki," Imai said, "but winning against a team like that and becoming a World Champion would be the most valuable thing in my life. If anything, I'd rather take them down."
Imai's 2025 performance earned him the Sawamura Award, Japan's equivalent of the Cy Young, with a 1.92 ERA over 163 2/3 innings and 178 strikeouts. Across his NPB career since debuting in 2018, he has a 3.15 ERA in 159 games. Standing at 5-foot-11 and 154 pounds, Imai relies on a mid-90s fastball, against which NPB batters hit .189 last season.
"[My best pitch is] probably my fastball," Imai explained. "The key is not aiming low. I’m always trying to throw it up in the zone—about mask-high for the catcher." He added that facing taller MLB hitters motivates his high-release strategy: "In MLB, the average height for a hitter is higher than in Japan, so I focus on throwing a rising, high fastball from that low release."
Imai specifically wants to pitch against Ohtani: "I really want to see how much my fastball holds up against him—to test myself by throwing it to him." He prefers joining a team without other Japanese players for a full cultural immersion. "If there were another Japanese player on the same team, I could just ask them about anything, right? But that’s actually not what I’m looking for. In a way, I want to experience that sense of survival."
Reports indicate interest from the New York Yankees, who lack a Japanese player since Masahiro Tanaka's 2020 stint, and the Chicago Cubs. Yankees GM Brian Cashman stated, "I’m interested in gravitating to any player anywhere in the world, including Japan." Samurai Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata praised Imai: "He was great before, but he's picked it up another notch. I'm very, very excited."
Analysts project Imai could command a nine-figure deal around $150 million, positioning him as a top-three starter candidate.
