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sports1d ago
All in on Tatsuya Imai
- The Giants are reportedly all in on pursuing Tatsuya Imai, a top free-agent starter, in the upcoming winter market.
- Imai’s recent NPB numbers (2.34 ERA in 2024; 1.92 in 2025) raise questions about translating success to MLB.
- Analysts project a multi-year deal potentially around six years and $157 million, plus posting fees to the Lions.
- Some observers flag the high cost and roster implications of signing Imai ahead of a potential rebuilding phase.
- Imai’s preference to avoid joining rivals and his interest in competing alongside fellow countrymen are debated in the context of team fit.
- The article notes the Giants were identified as a likely destination in MLB executives’ surveys amid Thanksgiving chatter.
- Cease’s seven-year, $210 million agreement with the Blue Jays reshapes the free-agent landscape and affects Imai’s market.
- The piece compares Imai to notable Japanese pitchers and references Tim Lincecum as a potential stylistic parallel.
- The article frames the free-agent market as a possible conveyor belt of top pitchers chasing a ring amid long-term roster concerns.
- The piece highlights the Giants’ ongoing focus on pitching as a central offseason objective.
- Fan sentiment dramatizes a tension between ambition and fan disappointment in the ongoing hot-stove narrative.
- The article ties Imai’s potential to the Giants’ broader historical pattern of spending and decision-making in free agency.
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