As Brian Cashman spoke at the Javits Center on Thursday night, he said he recently chatted with a few high-profile agents about several star players available on the open market.
Among them were Scott Boras, who represents Cody Bellinger and Tatsuya Imai, among other clients. Cashman has not been shy about his desire to re-sign Bellinger after a big year with the Yankees — that remained the case Thursday — but the general manager also made it known that he asked about the Japanese ace.
“I talked to Boras about Imai” said Cashman, referring to a Wednesday conversation while participating in the annual Covenant House Sleep Out, which raises awareness of young people facing homelessness.
It’s important to remember that teams are still doing due diligence at this point in the offseason, and Cashman would not tip his hand when asked if he would go hard after Imai. However, multiple industry sources have said that they expect the Yankees to pursue the right-handed pitcher, who has already begun the process of setting up initial Zoom meetings with potential suitors.
Imai was officially posted on Nov. 18. He has until 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 2 to reach a deal with a major league club. Only 27, he is coming off a 2025 campaign that saw him record a 1.92 ERA and 178 strikeouts over 163.2 innings for the Saitama Seibu Lions.
Imai has a 3.15 ERA over eight NPB seasons.
The Yankees have not successfully courted a Japanese-born player since Masahiro Tanaka signed with the club in 2014, nor have they employed one since he returned to his home country after the 2020 season.
Cashman recently said it’s been “too many years” since the team rostered a Japanese player, but it’s not that the Yankees haven’t tried for such talent, as they scout Nippon Professional Baseball thoroughly and recruited Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki in each of the last two offseasons. They were finalists for Yamamoto two winters ago, but their offer fell $25 million short of the $325 million deal he got from the Dodgers. Sasaki also picked Los Angeles last winter.
Of course, the Dodgers also signed Shohei Ohtani — who didn’t seem interested in the East Coast when he first came to the states — to a heavily-deferred, 10-year, $700 million contract before landing Yamamoto.
With the world’s most talented player, a geographical advantage, deep pockets, a winning track record and name-brand recognition, the back-to-back champion Dodgers have since become an assumed favorite whenever an elite Japanese player hits the market.
However, neither Imai nor his rep have revealed any preconceived preferences in the early stages of his free agency.
“Imai is very geographically open,” Boras recently said, though it wouldn’t make much sense to rule out potential suitors so soon.
Imai also hasn’t expressed a need to team up with other Japanese players. That’s not to say he won’t, but his focus is on playing for a contender.
All that could help the Yankees, who would benefit from the addition of a frontline starter with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt all beginning the season on the injured list. And while Imai could help push the team’s payroll past Hal Steinbrenner’s comfort zone — he is expected to command a nine-figure deal — there is plenty of money to be made from having Japanese representation on the roster, as the Dodgers have demonstrated.
“I have nothing to do with our business side, so I can’t really speak to that,” Cashman said when asked if it’s important to the Yankees to have a Japanese player, and if off-field opportunities have anything to do with that. “There is the belief or understanding that, obviously, it opens up different business, marketing, signage, what have you. But that’s not my area. If I do a good job on the baseball side, then everybody else in the company can capitalize on whatever comes their way. Our ticket director sells more tickets. The YES Network can have higher ratings and the signage price tags can go higher, I guess.
“But ultimately, if there’s a quality player, and he’s from Japan, yeah, I’m all in. And we’ve missed — not for a lack of effort or money — on a number of guys coming from Japan because they preferred the West Coast. They preferred the Dodgers specifically. I think Ohtani has been a great lure, as well as the West Coast.”
Imai, who did not have as decorated an NBP career as Yamamoto despite Boras comparing the two on multiple occasions, isn’t the only Japanese free agent this offseason. Corner infielders Kazuma Okamoto, another Boras client, and Munetaka Murakami make up the class’s Big Three.
Imai makes the most sense for the Yankees, though Okamoto, a right-handed hitter, would help the club with lefty swingers Ben Rice and Ryan McMahon at first and third, respectively. Cashman had yet to ask Boras about the 29-year-old simply because Okamoto wasn’t posted by the Yomiuri Giants — Hideki Matsui’s NPB team — until Thursday. His negotiating window began Friday morning and will end on Jan. 4 at 5 p.m. ET.
The slugging Murakami, meanwhile, is less of a fit due to his defensive concerns, high strikeout and low contact rates, and struggles against velocity.
Cashman said he spoke to Murakami’s agent, Casey Close, on Thursday and noted several of the rep’s clients. However, the general manager didn’t mention Murakami’s name.
AloJapan.com