The New York Yankees will certainly be in the market for starting pitchers this offseason, with an overseas prodigy making waves as a potential target.
According to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, the Yankees will be aggressive in their pursuit of Japanese star Tatsuya Imai. Imai will be posted this offseason, and in eight seasons in Japan, Imai posted a 3.15 ERA with a 58-45 record.
Last season, he posted a 10-5 record with a 1.92 ERA, and 178 strikeouts in 163.1 innings of work.
The Yankees will pursue him, but Kuty says they won’t go above and beyond if his price range gets out of hand.
“The 27-year-old would represent an upgrade to just about any rotation, but particularly to the Yankees’ group, which has so many questions heading into spring training. But don’t be surprised if they end up going cheaper if the price ratchets up for the right-hander,” Kuty said. “Right now, it’s too early to say how aggressive the Yankees will be with particular pitchers. They would be doing themselves a disservice by not monitoring everything.”
With injuries to Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Gerrit Cole affecting the start of the 2026 season, the Yankees will be aggressive, but smart in their pursuit of starting pitching depth, including however they go about negotiations with Imai.
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