In recent offseasons, the Philadelphia Phillies expressed interest in signing Japanese players who were posted from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). They were unable to add Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Shota Imanaga in the 2023 offseason.
Several Japanese players have been posted to free agency from NPB this offseason. Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, Kona Takahashi, and Tatsuya Imai are all looking to continue their respective careers in MLB.
And there was a recent development that will spark speculation among Phillies fans. According to a post on X (formerly Twitter) from Phillies Tailgate, Imai started following Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler on Instagram.