LOS ANGELES — Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai has officially entered the posting system, and he already has Dodgers fans’ attention for one very specific reason: he’s coming for the champs. In a recent interview on Japanese TV with former big leaguer Daisuke Matsuzaka, Imai talked about facing Los Angeles. He admitted playing with his fellow countrymen on the Dodgers had its appeal but then said, “I want to take them down… I think beating a team like that and becoming World Champions would be the most valuable thing in my life.”
Now, it comes across a little more gently in the Japanese original, but that is the gist of the statement. Imai is looking to make his own splash in the MLB, not in riding the Ohtani/Yamamoto/Sasaki coattails. MLB.com’s translation goes like this: “If there were another Japanese player on the same team, I could just ask them about anything, right?” Imai said. “But that’s actually not what I’m looking for. In a way, I want to experience that sense of survival. When I come face-to-face with cultural differences, I want to see how I can overcome them on my own — that’s part of what I’m excited about.”
That is not a throwaway line. It comes from a 27-year-old who just put together one of the best seasons in Japan. Pitching for the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2025, Imai went 10–5 with a 1.92 ERA over 163 2/3 innings, striking out 178, walking just 45, and allowing only six home runs. He led the Pacific League in strikeout rate, threw five complete games, and spun three shutouts.
This wasn’t a one-year fluke, either. Over the last three seasons in NPB, Imai has posted a combined 2.18 ERA across roughly 470 innings as he’s grown into Seibu’s ace. For his career, he’s 58–45 with a 3.15 ERA and 907 strikeouts, earning three All-Star selections along the way. Scouting reports have him sitting around 95 mph and reaching the upper 90s with his fastball, pairing it with a sharp slider and a mix of changeup, splitter, and sinker that already looks like a big-league starter’s arsenal.
Because Seibu posted him this month, MLB teams now have a 45-day window that runs until Jan. 2 to negotiate a deal. Early reports out of Japan and the U.S. have linked Imai to several contenders. The Mets have been publicly connected to him, viewing him as one of several high-end rotation options on their board. The Yankees have also been mentioned as serious players as they look to add another frontline arm next to Gerrit Cole and Max Fried.
Out west, the Giants are being talked about as an “early potential suitor” and a club that badly wants to finally land a marquee Japanese star after watching the Dodgers reel in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. (SI) Other national pieces have thrown the Cubs, Mariners, Padres, Rangers, and Red Sox into the mix as logical fits for an ace-level arm who doesn’t come with a qualifying offer attached.
And then there are the Dodgers. Even in articles trying to handicap “everyone besides L.A.,” writers keep circling back to the idea that the defending champs will be heavily involved for Imai, just as they were for Yamamoto. That’s what makes his quote so fun from a Dodger fan perspective: he’s openly dreaming about taking down the team that just won it all and became the destination for Japanese stars. Whether that means he wants to beat the Dodgers or eventually do that with them is still up in the air, but either way, he’s clearly measuring himself against the standard in blue.
However it plays out, the picture is pretty simple. A Japanese ace with frontline numbers, legit velocity, and a competitive streak big enough to call out the champs is headed for MLB. The Dodgers already know what it looks like when that kind of arm comes over and thrives. Now we wait to see if Imai is trying to topple them from afar… or join the next parade.
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