The Toronto Blue Jays, hot off their first World Series appearance in decades, are in the thick of the MLB Free Agency rumors. They are eager to improve in all areas of the game. This has Toronto at the center of rumors involving players ranging from Kyle Tucker to Pete Fairbanks to Dylan Cease. Now, the Blue Jays have been linked to NBP pitcher Tatsuya Imai.
Many teams have interest in the pitcher, who was recently posted to the MLB. However, one scribe has predicted that he will land in the laps of the Blue Jays, instead of the New York Yankees, the current frontrunners.
Toronto Blue Jays Linked to Tatsuya Imai
While making an appearance on the Blue Jays Today podcast, Bob Nightengale made several predictions about the players that Toronto will acquire in free agency.
Nightengale claimed that the Blue Jays would sign one of Bo Bichette or Tucker (but not both). He also spoke about the type of pitchers the team will add.
“I think they’re either gonna sign Bichette or Tucker, but not both, because they’re spend their other money on a starting pitcher,” Nightengale said to the podcast hosts via a social media clip. “I think getting a starting pitcher is more important to them.”
“Their going to spend their money on a starting pitcher,” Nightengale continued. “Whether it’s Valdez or the Japanese pitcher (Imai)…they’ll go that route.”
Additionally, Mike Gianakos revealed that the Blue Jays were one of two teams at minimum, who have interest in Imai.
“Imai is sure to draw significant interest during the offseason as teams look to bolster their starting rotations,” Gianakos wrote for ClutchPoints a few days ago. “The Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants have already shown interest.”
Scouting Report on Tatsuya Imai
So what kind of stuff does Imai bring to the table? Well, The Athletic put together scouting reports for each of the top five available starting pitchers who are free agents. Included in that crop was Imai.
In this piece, many scouts were polled on their thoughts regarding some of these available free agents.
“Imai, who was the fourth-ranked pitcher on the Big Board and No. 10 overall, attracted a first-place vote from one scout on our panel who rated all of his pitches major-league average or better,” The Athletic piece states. “Among a handful of offerings, he throws an impressive fastball and splitter. Also, one scout said he does the “little things,” such as field his position and hold runners.”
“I don’t think he has quite the stuff Yamamoto has,” one scout said, “but it’s in the same ballpark.”
Tatsuya Imai Contract Predictions
Imai posted great NBP numbers during the 2025 season. He put up a 10-5 record in 24 starts. Additionally, he threw 178 strikeouts in 163 2/3 innings to go along with a 0.89 WHIP and a 1.92 ERA.
So what’s a pitcher like that worth? Well, there are a lot of opinions on the matter.
Tim Britton of The Athletic has him making $190 million on an eight year deal. Conversely, MLBTradeRumors believes Imai is in line for a $150 million six-year contract.
The biggest contract prediction for Imai comes from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He has predicted a $200 million deal for an eight-year term.
There is plenty to like about Imai’s arsenal that paying at least $150 million should be viewed as an investment. One that the fans and organization believe is worth it.
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