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The Los Angeles Dodgers’ big bets on Japanese pitchers paid off earlier this month.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto received World Series MVP honors, Roki Sasaki recorded critical outs and Shohei Ohtani started in Game 7. Now Tatsuya Imai is the latest Japanese ace and free agent to set his sights on Major League Baseball. But the right-hander hopes his path to the majors doesn’t go through Los Angeles.
Imai is in the midst of a 45-day posting window, which allows him to accept a contract with any major league team of his choice.
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Tatsuya Imai of Saitama Seibu Lions throws against Orix Buffaloes at Belluna Dome on April 25, 2025 in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan. (Sports Nippon/Getty Images)
“I’d rather take them down,” Imai told Japan’s TV Asahi program “Hodo Station,” with a hint of laughter, according to MLB.com.
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“Of course I would enjoy playing together [Shohei] Ohtani, [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto and [Roki] Sasaki,” Imai added, “but to win against a team like that and become world champion would be the most valuable thing in my life.”
Imai most recently pitched for Nippon Professional Baseball’s Seibu Lions. The 27-year-old became available to MLB teams on November 19. He experienced some ups and downs in his first few NPB seasons, but eventually settled in and became one of the league’s more reliable starting pitchers.
Tatsuya Imai (48) of Samurai Japan reacts after hitting in the top of the seventh inning during the game between Samurai Japan and the Netherlands at Kyocera Dome Osaka on March 5, 2025 in Osaka, Japan. (Gene Wang/Getty Images)
Last season, Imai pitched a combined no-hitter and was named to his third career All-Star team. He has a career 3.15 ERA over 159 games with the Lions.
Imai also noted that he hopes to sign with a team whose roster currently has no Japanese players.
Pitcher Tatsuya Imai (48) of Japan throws the 1st inning during the Asia Professional Baseball Championship final between South Korea and Japan at the Tokyo Dome on November 19, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Gene Wang/Getty Images)
“They’d just tell you anything if you asked, wouldn’t they?” Referring to the idea of teaming up with another Japanese player in the U.S., Imai said, “I don’t really want that; I kind of want to experience that survival vibe, and that’s part of the fun of facing cultural differences and figuring them out on my own.”
The Dodgers have effectively cornered the market on top international players in recent years, but Imai’s latest comments throw cold water on the idea of Los Angeles adding a fourth Japanese-born pitcher to its 2026 rotation.
