Ranking Tatsuya Imai free-agent suitors by his best chance to end a Dodgers dynasty

At this point, whenever a big-name Japanese player comes over to the States, everyone understandably assumes it's only a matter of time before they sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But Tatsuya Imai is fixing to change all that: After years as one of the top pitches in NPB, he's now one of the top arms available on the market in MLB free agency, and he apparently has no desire to land in L.A.

“I want to take [the Dodgers] down," Imai said recently on Japanese TV. "Becoming world champions would be the most valuable thing in my life."

But that's not all. It's not just that Imai doesn't want to join the Dodgers' superteam; he apparently doesn't even want to join a team that already has a Japanese star or two at all.

"[If there were Japanese players] they’d just tell you anything if you asked, right?" Imai said. "I don’t really want that; in a way, I want to experience that survival vibe, you know, facing cultural differences, making how I overcome them on my own one of the fun parts."

That has to be a breath of fresh air to every other team in the league, especially ones like the Blue Jays, Yankees and Giants who have been frozen out of the Japanese market in recent years. But how does this reshape which teams should be considered the favorites for Imai's services?

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Long shots

10. Houston Astros

Japanese player on the roster? No

The Astros need pitching, and they have limited payroll space (and even more limited prospect ammunition thanks to a woefully thin farm system) to find it. Imai feels like a more reasonable target than top options like Dylan Cease, but it's still more than likely that he winds up out of Houston's price range. Plus, this team has a clogged and aging roster that feels more than one offseason away from competing with the Dodgers.

9. San Diego Padres

Japanese player on the roster? Yes (RHP Yu Darvish, LHP Yuki Matsui)

The Padres are also in desperate need of pitching, with Darvish already out for 2026 and both Cease and Michael King off to free agency. But while we're loath to put anything past AJ Preller, San Diego's troubled financial situation makes it unlikely that they'll wind up as the highest bidder for Imai. And while a core of Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado is a very nice starting point, this roster feels poised to take a step back from 2025 given what they're losing.

8. Baltimore Orioles

Japanese player on the roster? No

The O's, on the other hand, could be poised to take a big step forward next year, at least if Mike Elias really is ready to finally get aggressive in free agency. Imai would be a big step in the right direction, exactly the sort of shot in the arm this rotation needs — especially after trading away Grayson Rodriguez.

From Imai's perspective, though, it's tough to argue that Baltimore would give him a better shot at competing for titles than some of the other teams that figure to be in on him. Yes, this team made back-to-back postseason appearances in 2023-24. But that feels like a long time ago now, and there's still a ton of work to be done to rebuild this pitching staff even if the homegrown hitters bounce back.

7. San Francisco Giants

Japanese player on the roster? No

I want to be more bullish on the Giants. Rafael Devers is a boon for this offense, Buster Posey is clearly motivated to build a winner and adding Imai behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray would give San Francisco a heck of a top three to build around. But there are still just too many holes in the lineup and the pitching staff; barring a true home run of a winter, one that involves landing Kyle Tucker and multiple other pieces, I'm having a hard time buying it.

Real contenders

6. Boston Red Sox

Japanese player on the roster? Yes (DH/OF Masataka Yoshida)

Boston could make a major jump up this list over the next month or two. There's plenty of prospect depth and money to work with; find a running mate for Garrett Crochet, another reliever and an extra power bat or two, and we're cooking with gas. As things currently stand, though, this feels more like a good team than a great one. There are simply too many question marks behind Crochet in the rotation and Aroldis Chapman in the bullpen, and unless we're assuming the addition of Pete Alonso or Kyle Schwarber (no sure things), there's a distinct lack of pop in the lineup.

5. New York Mets

Japanese player on the roster? Yes (RHP Kodai Senga)

Who knows, maybe the presence of Senga in the rotation will be a dealbreaker. Even if it's not, though, these Mets still feel like they're one more year away from becoming a fully operational battle station. David Stearns has clearly begun to remake this roster in his image, shipping out Brandon Nimmo and reportedly freezing out Alonso and Edwin Diaz amid their sky-high contract demands. But New York needs more or less a full pitching makeover, and that's not even mentioning the question marks in center field, left field, first base, third base and DH. We know the money is there to get it done, but money alone can't speed up this process.

4. Chicago Cubs

Japanese player on the roster? Yes (OF Seiya Suzuki, LHP Shota Imanaga)

It's disappointing (if not downright inexcusable) that Chicago has already seemingly resigned itself to letting Kyle Tucker walk in free agency. Even still, there's a lot to like about this team for next season, starting with a lineup that should be rock solid even without Tucker in right field. Adding Imai and potentially one more starter to Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd and Co. would put the Cubs right back into the mix for the NL Central crown, with plenty of resources to work with if a midseason trade is needed. They're still a clear cut below the Dodgers, but you can at least see the path.

3. Philadelphia Phillies

Japanese player on the roster? No

There's much consternation in Philly right now, with Ranger Suarez, Kyle Schwarber and JT Realmuto all hitting free agency fresh off another disappointing NLDS showing. Replacing Suarez with Imai still leaves the Phils with a very good starting rotation, though, and if they're able to bring in another bat in addition to Schwarber — even somebody like Mike Yastrzemski or Luis Robert — there still aren't a whole lot of rosters in the NL that I like more than this one. That might say as much about the NL as anything, but I'm not sure anyone else in the league can make a more credible claim to challenging the Dodgers.

The top two

2. New York Yankees

Japanese player on the roster? No

It sure does feel like the Yankees check all of Imai's boxes. He's reportedly open to coming to the East Coast, so that's no longer an obstacle, and New York famously doesn't have a single Japanese player on the roster after missing on everyone from Shohei Ohtani to Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Plus, they made the World Series as recently as 2024, and they had baseball's second-best run differential last year while winning 94 games. They could use another starter, too, especially with Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt likely all on the IL to begin the year.

So what's the problem? Well, the team ahead of them checks all the boxes too, and they just came within two outs of beating the Dodgers a few weeks ago.

1. Toronto Blue Jays

Japanese player on the roster? No

Who knows how Imai feels about the prospect of playing in Canada, or anywhere else for that matter. But the Jays have money to burn after that magical run to Game 7 of the World Series (and the potential departure of Bo Bichette), and they have a huge need in the rotation even with Shane Bieber picking up his player option for 2026. They play in a huge, global city, and they've come closer than anybody else to knocking off L.A. over the last couple of years. If they decide they want to make Imai a target, what's not to like?