The Chicago Cubs could be leaning heavily on their starting rotation to win games in the 2026 MLB season. As a result, Chicago could bolster their unit even more with Japanese free agent pitcher, Tatsuya Imai.
Moreover, the Cubs have one thing in their favor: Imai has no interest in heading to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Imai noted that he wants to take down the reigning back-to-back World Series champions.
“Of course, I’d enjoy playing alongside [Shohei] Ohtani, [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto, and [Roki] Sasaki,” Imai told Daisuke Matsuzaka during a November appearance on the show, “Hodo Station” (h/t MLB.com). “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.”
With Imai looking outside the Los Angeles bubble, Marquee Sports Network’s Bruce Levine urged the Cubs to do whatever it takes to get the 27-year-old.
“Here’s the thing about the Chicago Cubs that we don’t realize: They’re a big-market team, even though people have accused them of not spending like one, and they can absorb some failures,” Levine said on December 2 during an appearance on Marquee Sports Network. “Every team must be able to absorb it; you can’t be perfect with everything.
“[Imai] is the best pitcher out there. He is a swing-and-miss type of guy, which they need to go along with [Cade] Horton. This is your guy. And Jed Hoyer has made a study of Japan over the last five or six years, taking numerous trips there. I think this is the guy for the Chicago Cubs.”
Giants Are Out on Tatsuya Imai
On December 1, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reported, citing club sources, that the San Francisco Giants won’t be one of the suitors for Imai due to several financial considerations.
As a result, the Giants do not expect to spend nine figures to sign Imai or any of the other leading pitchers available in free agency, which is good news for teams like the Cubs.
“After splurging on $182-million shortstop Willy Adames last offseason and taking on more than $250 million while trading for corner infielder Rafael Devers in June, their current preference is to limit their spending to short-term deals,” Baggarly wrote.
Cubs Face One Hurdle in Potential Tatsuya Imai Pursuit
While the Giants and Dodgers appear to be out of the running, so might the Cubs. Imai notes that his desire isn’t to be playing with any other Japanese pitcher, and the Cubs currently have Shota Imanaga.
“If there were another Japanese player on the same team, I could just ask them about anything, right?” Imai said in that same interview with Matsuzaka. “But that’s actually not what I’m looking for. In a way, I want to experience that sense of survival. When I come face-to-face with cultural differences, I want to see how I can overcome them on my own — that’s part of what I’m excited about.”
It’s not three Japanese players like Los Angeles, but would Imai bend what he’s looking for to play in Chicago? The Cubs will need to do some convincing if this is the principle that he’s sticking by.
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