The picture around Tatsuya Imai is coming into sharper focus as the competition narrows. The Chicago Cubs and the New York Yankees appear to be firmly in the mix and are viewed as leading candidates for the Japanese pitcher.
On December 17, MLB insider Francys Romero reported, citing industry sources, that roughly five teams across MLB are actively pursuing Imai. Romero added that the Yankees and Cubs have emerged as the top contenders to land him.
Moreover, Tyler Austin, who signed with Chicago this offseason, shared what makes Imai an exceptional talent, given that the veteran player spent the last six years playing in Japan for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.
“His stuff is there,” Austin said on a December 22 appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM. “The makeup is there. I’ve spoken to him a little bit. He is more focused than anybody I’ve seen on that side of the ball over there, if that makes sense.
“He dialed into his craft. Really, really, really good stuff. I’m excited to see how it plays out for him over here; I’m excited to see where he ends up, to be honest. I’m not sure, but I think he’s got the chance to be special as well. Really good fighter. Different type of fighter.”
Cubs’ Tyler Austin Reveals More About Tatsuya Imai
Moreover, Austin detailed one pitch that he saw against Imai while facing him in Japan, noting that if it can translate over to the majors, big league hitters should be worried about what the Japanese star brings to the mound.
“I actually struck out against him in the at-bat I have off of him,” Austin added. “And I came back into the dugout, and I was like, ‘Man, that’s a disgusting fork [ball].’ I assume that the last two pitches he had were forks. Our analytic guy looks at me and goes, ‘Hey, those were sliders.’ I’m like, ‘I’ve never seen one like it.‘ So we’ll see if it translates over here or, but it’s pretty good.”
Cubs Might Need to Get Uncomfortable to Beat Yankees
As the Cubs go head-to-head with the Yankees in the pursuit of Imai, Marquee Sports Network’s Lance Brozdowski recently suggested that Chicago may need to stretch beyond its usual limits on both contract length and salary to secure the Japanese standout.
“This is getting to the point that if you want any of these guys, you’re going to have to go into the land of a little bit uncomfortable,“ Brozdowski said on the December 19 edition of “Cubs 360.” “You’re going to have to be a little uncomfortable around the amount of years or the amount of dollars, or the combination of the two, that you’re giving a player like this. He has a posting fee attached to him.
“If the Cubs internal model says he’s worth five for $100 million plus the posting fee, let’s say, 20 a year, I have to imagine the Yankees can just swing in there and go, ‘Cool, we’ll give you six [years] for [$120 million].‘ That’s the uncomfortable that I’m talking about. Are the Cubs willing to push a little bit above what their internal say on a guy like Imai?”
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