Yankees Legitimately Chasing Japanese Pitcher

This offseason, the New York Yankees are after a starting pitcher to bolster their injured rotation (at least, they were when we began). They are rumored to be targeting Japanese starter Tatsuya Imai, and more and more evidence suggests that they will be in on the coming bidding.

The deadline to land Imai will come on January 2 (he was made available in the posting system in November), and he is among the best free agent pitchers on the Athletic's big board. In a recent Reddit AMA, MLB's Bryan Hoch suggested that the Yankees will chase Imai, because there are too many good reasons to justify passing him over.

"[...] my sense is that the Yankees' interest in Imai is legitimate," Hoch wrote. "They haven't had a Japanese player since Masahiro Tanaka, but it hasn't been for a lack of trying - remember, they were right there at the finish line for Yoshinobu Yamamoto."

Hearing from a source with the Lions that Tatsuya Imai is pushing towards posting this year. Seibu Lions are hesitant to post players (see Takahashi).

Imai has elite stuff and his control jumped to another tier this year. Sits 94-96 (max 98-99), unhittable slider, great… pic.twitter.com/RTsp3hvGGo
— Yankeesource (@YankeeSource) July 31, 2025

"Brian Cashman made an interesting point recently about that pursuit -- they'd just gotten back from meeting with Yamamoto in Los Angeles, where there were some perfect beach weather days, and then they hosted Yamamoto in cold, gray New York. Cashman remembered thinking: 'This isn't going to help us.'"

"[...] yes, I believe the Yankees are right there in the Imai market. There's too many reasons for them not to be."

Yankees' Pitching Needs

Imai would fill a critical early-season need for the Yankees' rotation, who will be missing three star pitchers from their staff when Opening Day comes. Clarke Schmidt, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon have all had surgeries that will prevent them from pitching in the spring, leaving Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough to fill that role.

Oct 8, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) before pitching against the Toronto Blue Jays during game four of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The former two are expected to be strong options, with Warren and Yarbrough still working to prove their stuff. Schlittler will also be entering his first full season, so he is under-proven, but showed terrific potential after his July call-up. This offseason, he is reportedly working on a breaking ball or a splitter (the Cam Splittler, as I expect it will be called) to round out his current mix of pitches.

The Yankees have lamented their failure to land a Japanese player these last few years throughout this offseason, and Yamamoto must be top of mind given his superhuman World Series performance.

Despite recent remarks from Aaron Boone denying that the Yankees necessarily need another starting pitcher, Japanese media outlets and MLB insiders like Hoch seem to suggest that they want one, and will work hard to get one.

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