The SF Giants are looking for pitching this offseason and they may turn their eye towards Japan where some intriguing pitchers could be posted by their clubs. One pitcher in particular, Tatsuya Imai, could be a huge get for the Giants.
Imai is expected to be posted by his club the Seibu Lions of the NPB. He has been a solid pitcher for a long time in Japan and is coming off a career year for the Lions in which he had a 1.92 ERA over 163 and 2/3 innings pitched with 178 strikeouts and 45 walks.
SF Giants can make a run at Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai
The 27-year-old throws hard with a fastball that can range anywhere from 95 to 100 miles per hour with four to five other pitches in his repertoire. It definitely seems like he is more than ready to make the jump to the big leagues and would be a welcome addition in San Francisco’s rotation.
The Giants only have Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, and Landen Roupp as definite starters in the 2026 rotation so they need to get at least two more starters to fill out the rest of the rotation. Imai could slot in either as the team’s second or third starter after their ace Logan Webb.
Imai may command a big contract in free agency with some predicting he will get a deal ranging anywhere from $80 million to $200 million. We will have to see what the market dictates, but after seeing Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominate in the playoffs for the Los Angeles Dodgers there may be teams willing to really overpay for Imai thinking they could have the next Yamamoto.
The Giants have stayed active in the Japanese market as of late despite losing out on Japanese stars like Shohei Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki in recent years. President of baseball operations Buster Posey made a stealthy trip to Japan earlier this year so he has refused to accept defeat even though the Dodgers seem to keep on landing these talents from Japan.
Expect San Francisco to pursue a number of different routes as they try to add pitching. They could always swing a big trade and they have been connected to some potential aces who could be traded this offseason.
No matter how they do it, they need to add some starters and pursuing Imai would give them exciting flamethrower in the rotation.
