ESPN’s Buster Olney poured a bit of cold water on rumors that the San Francisco Giants could land NPB All-Star pitcher Tatsuya Imai in free agency this winter.
Olney wrote Saturday the Giants have been linked to Imai, “but a lot of their market pitching inquiries have been for more modestly priced arms.”
He described that as “a strong indication they aren’t chasing the highest priced pitchers, like Imai.”
Imai was posted for MLB teams on Nov. 19. He has until Jan. 2 to sign with a club.
He posted a 1.92 ERA over 163.2 innings last season while leading the NPB with a 27.8 strikeout rate and ranking second with 178 strikeouts.
According to MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi, Imai relies on a fastball that usually clocks in at around 95 mph as well as a slider and a splitter for left-handed batters.
Morosi described Imai as having a pitching profile similar to “or perhaps slightly above” New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga.
Imai looks set to make significantly more on his first contract than Senga, who signed a five-year, $75 million deal with the Mets in 2022.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently estimated that a six-year deal worth $157 million— including the posting fee owed to Imai’s NPB club— would be “a bit low” for the pitcher’s final contract.
That means that a potential deal for Imai could end up being one of the largest contracts in Giants franchise history. Willy Adames, Buster Posey, Matt Chapman and Johnny Cueto are the only Giants players to ever have received a deal worth at least $130 million, per Spotrac.
When asked earlier this month if the Giants would consider signing a pitcher to a $100 million deal this offseason, chairman Greg Johnson told the San Francisco Standard‘s John Shea his club was “going to be very cautious about those kinds of signings.”
MLB.com’s Maria Guardado recently wrote she felt it was “more likely” the Giants would bring back Justin Verlander or pursue other free agent pitchers like Max Scherzer, Zac Gallen or Michael King.
Each of those players would likely cost significantly less than Imai. King has the highest market value as estimated by Spotrac, which projects his next deal at four years and $91 million.
Johnson told Shea that the Giants’ “No. 1” priority this offseason would be adding starting pitching help. Depending on how competitive bidding for Imai is this offseason, however, San Francisco might ultimately look elsewhere while rebuilding its rotation for 2026.
