The New York Yankees are exploring all avenues of improving their roster. One option would be adding another top flight pitcher to their rotation.
As he prepares to join MLB, Tatsuya Imai will garner interest from plenty of teams around the league. The Yankees will be one of them with New York looking more like a serious suitor for the right-hander, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
“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.”
The Yankees are preparing to enter the season without Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt in their rotation. Max Fried will lead the way, but New York could use some extra firepower. Furthermore, a rotation featuring those four once fully healthy and Imai would be arguably the scariest in all of baseball.
Imai has been competing in NPB for the last seven seasons. Over 159 total games, he holds a 3.15 ERA and a 907/468 K/BB ratio. Imai was named an All-Star three times over his career, including back-to-back in 2024 and 2025.
The Yankees won't be alone in their pursuit of Imai. While not all the pitching dominoes have fallen, the top free agent pitchers will soon be finding their homes. That includes Imai. But if everything works out how New York is planning, the star right-hander will be beginning his MLB career with the franchise in 2026.
