Aaron Boone reveals confounding Yankees' Tatsuya Imai update

Matt Sullivan

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Aaron Boone reveals confounding Yankees' Tatsuya Imai update image

There are a lot of teams looking to acquire starting pitching help this winter. While the New York Yankees are one of those teams, they've yet to make a move.

Their division rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles, have all gone out and acquired starting pitching help. The Yankees, so far, have not made a move.

And according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, an update from Aaron Boone on one top option for the rotation, Japanese ace Tatsuya Imai, is a confounding update amid what should've been a clear Yankees fit.

Yankees' Aaron Boone reveals Tatsuya Imai update that makes no sense

"Aaron Boone said the Yankees have not met with Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai," Kirschner reports. "He said he didn't know if they will."

The Yankees haven't met with Imai, and while that's an odd situation with his singing deadline coming up on January 2nd, 2026, there's still time to meet with him.

But the follow-up that the Yankees aren't planning to meet with Imai is all the more confounding. The Yankees have a clear need to address in the starting rotation, but they aren't planning to address it with Imai based on these comments.

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But, with where things stand heading into Christmas week, it doesn't look like the Yankees will be able to bring in Imai due to a baffling lack of interest.

Imai is 27 years old and is coming off an impressive 1.92 ERA 2025 season in Japan. He would be a great addition for the Yankees, but this update from Boone indicates that they have not made any headway with the Japanese ace this winter.

While a last-minute meeting is still within the realm of possibility, as things currently stand, the Yankees' signing Imai doesn't look to be in the cards.

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Editorial Team