It's been quite a while since the New York Yankees, who once dominated the Japanese free agency market, have made an overseas splash. Masahiro Tanaka was the splurge at the end of the Yankees' 2013-14 class, which also included Brian McCann, Carlos Beltrán, and Jacoby Ellsbury. Since then? They've heavily pursued Yoshinobu Yamamoto, been spurned by Shohei Ohtani before his free agency even really started, and stayed out of the bidding entirely for the rest of the country's stars.
While it's become a bit of an overcooked punchline lately to ascribe each and every Japanese star to the Dodgers, regardless of the team's current need, the posting of Tatsuya Imai feels a little bit different.