Tatsuya Imai was expected to get plenty of interest from the San Francisco Giants, a team who might’ve fit him better than the Yankees.
Instead, Andrew Baggerty of The Athletic reports that the Giants ‘do not anticipate’ a pursuit of Imai due to various financial reasons.
A stance that will rule San Francisco out of the Imai sweepstakes, the Yankees are in an excellent spot as they’re firmly in the mix for the talented right-hander.
Sources told Empire Sports Media that the Yankees are ‘seriously’ interested in Tatsuya Imai and he is one of the team’s top priorities.
The Yankees Have Lost Three Massive Competitiors For Tatsuya Imai in The Last Month
After recording a 1.92 ERA across 24 starts for the Seibu Lions in 2025, Tatsuya Imai is expected to get a nine-figure contract offer from multiple teams.
It’s all-but-certain that he will sign a deal in excess of $100 million, but the question becomes which teams will end up seriously pursuing his services.
Three competitors who were serious concerns were the Dodgers, Blue Jays and Giants for various reasons, and all three have been effectively wiped out of consideration.
Los Angeles was ruled out due to their own lack of interest alongside Imai privately not being interested in playing for them, a thought that he made public earlier this month.
San Francisco is tapping out before the bidding war even begins, and Toronto inked Dylan Cease to a massive seven-year $210 million contract, as they likely had him higher on their board than Tatsuya Imai (which projections agree with).
We could see the San Diego Padres and New York Mets become the primary threats for the Yankees, teams like the Red Sox might not be interested in handing out a nine-figure deal given their investment in Sonny Gray for 2026.
The Mets interest is real, but as Andy Martino of SNY put it, this is not an all-out pursuit that will result in Steve Cohen dropping the hammer if needed.
For the Padres, their financial problems could rule out a pursuit of Imai despite their internal desire for him, but we could see them clear payroll or get creative to make this move happen.
You cannot rule out AJ Preller, but the Yankees are in a good standing to land Imai if their aggression turns into a sizable contract offer.
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