YANKEES CREEP INTO "FAVORITE" STATUS FOR TATSUYA IMAI

Yankees fans, rejoice—or at least pretend you know what’s going on. Word is the Bronx Bombers have emerged as one of the favorites to land three-time NPB All-Star Tatsuya Imai. And yes, relax, you’re not alone: most of us needed Google to figure out who this guy is, too.

Imai, a 27-year-old righty for the Saitama Seibu Lions, has been lighting up Japan since 2018. He’s made three All-Star teams, carries a career 58–45 record with a tight 3.15 ERA, and he’s officially being posted on November 19. After that, MLB teams will have 45 days to woo him—or he packs his bags and heads back to Japan.

MLB Network’s David Vassegh has already tossed the Yankees’ name into the rumor tornado, grouping them with the Phillies, Blue Jays, Mets, and Padres. Apparently, according to Vassegh’s “Japanese friends”—his words, not mine—the Yankees are right in the thick of it.

The competition makes sense: all these teams desperately need arms for 2026 and beyond. And Imai’s arsenal is the type that front offices drool over. We’re talking a fastball up to 99, a biting slider, and a changeup that makes hitters look like they forgot their glasses. Control used to be an issue, but he’s sharpened that up—so much so that he just posted a 1.92 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. Not bad… though, let’s be real, NPB hitters aren’t exactly the same beasts lurking in MLB lineups.

The elephant in the room? Kei Igawa PTSD...for me at least. Big, glowing, neon PTSD. Yankee fans don’t need another reminder that not every Japanese pitcher is the next Tanaka; sometimes you get the guy who makes you dive behind the couch every fifth day.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are watching the Dodgers printing money, collecting Japanese stars like they’re Pokémon cards—Ohtani, Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki—and they seem to think they can just… copy-paste that blueprint. Here’s the catch: the Dodgers actually spend money. The Yankees? They talk about spending money and then they get a guy like Frankie Montas. Totally different.

Stay tuned. This could get interesting. Or it could get very, very Yankee. We shall see.