The Los Angeles Dodgers are just over a week removed from their World Series parade, but Andrew Friedman was afforded just a week of good sleep prior to the MLB GM Meetings in Las Vegas this week. While teams like the Dodgers rarely make a big splash at the GM Meetings, they do lay thr groundwork with other teams and agents of potential free agents prior to the big winter ahead. That includes international free agents like Tatsuya Imai, who should be posted shortly here per his MLB team, the Seibu Lions.
Considering the Dodgers strong contingent in Japan, it would be unwise to count them out so quickly. However, this year's crop of young Japanese talent is expected to consider the field a bit more heavily than, say, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Roki Sasaki did. That includes Imai, whose comments about wanting to win a World Series raised some red flags around baseball on Tuesday morning.
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What did Tatsuya Imai say, and should he be linked to the Dodgers?
Imai made a rather simple comment about his move to the United States. The Japanese hurler was tired of pitching in what many have coined the NPB dead ball era, and wants to win at baseball's highest level.
"I'm just going to aim to become a World Champion," Imai said, via Nikkan Sports and Yakyu Cosmopolitan. "I didn't always want to play in the majors. Over the past two or three years, I've been observing the reactions of opposing batters and the impression opposing teams have of me. I've begun to feel like I'm not doing what I want to do. I feel like I'm starting to wonder how many players are actually pitching and wanting to hit home runs."
Imai hasn't felt challenged in NPB, which is why he's making the journey across the Pacific. His sentiments sound familiar to those of Yamamoto and Yu Darvish before him. Imai's specific pointer of wanting to win a World Series should raise the hair on the back of any baseball fan's neck, even if unwarranted. No organization would provide Imai with a better chance of doing just that than the Dodgers, and they have the recruiters in Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki to make it happen. They could also use some starting pitching help given how oft-injured their rotation is seemingly every postseason.
Dodgers won't be alone in pursuit of Imai
The Dodgers are the Dodgers, so of course they will make a call to Imai's representation and set up a meeting. That does not guarantee he'll sign there, though, and the 27-year-old has already been linked to the New York Mets. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has scouted Imai in person. Were Imai to sign in Queens, he'd join fellow Japanese star Kodai Senga in New York's starting rotation.
That's just the beginning for Imai, though, who is expected to command a contract close to $135 million per ESPN. The starting pitching market is considered top-heavy this offseason, meaning unproven commodities like Imai, who had a record of 10-5 this season with a 1.92 ERA and 178 strikeouts to just 45 walks in NPB, could receive far more than they would most winters simply because of need at the position.
It's common knowledge that the Dodgers have the best scouting department in baseball, and were set up in Asia long before 29 other MLB teams knew anything of the talent overseas. But by now, rival contenders have done their due diligence to catch up. Teams like the Mets and Cubs, both in need of starting pitching, could put a dent in the Dodgers' dominance by signing Imai.