Japanese righty Tatsuya Imai was officially posted on November 19 and is one of the top free agents on the market, ranking right up there with Dylan Cease and Framber Valdez when it comes to coveted pitchers. He won’t turn 28 until May and boasts a mid-90s fastball that can touch triple digits, plus he’s got a wrong-way slider that helped him generate a 27.8% strikeout rate in NPB this past season. He could earn a contract of $150 million or more, so most predictions have him landing in a major market.
However, Imai’s comments during a recent television interview seem to indicate that he’s looking for something a little different.