Throughout the Cincinnati Reds entire history, the franchise has only signed one Japanese-born player — Shogo Akiyama — and the results were underwhelming to say the least. Akiyama never adapted to playing in the big leagues, took on the role of a utility outfielder, and became a roster casualty after just two years in Cincinnati.
It should come as no surprise then that the Reds were not part of the contract negotiations for Japanese pitching sensation Tatsuya Imai. While Imai has all the tools to be a frontline starter in the big leagues, Cincinnati has more starting depth than they know what do with, and weren't about to get into a bidding war for a redundant roster piece when they have much bigger holes to fill.