The Los Angeles Dodgers have had management over the worldwide free agent market over the past couple of years, bringing within the two largest abilities from abroad over the past couple of years.
This yr shall be totally different, although, as essentially the most highly-regarded worldwide free agent this yr, Japanese ace Tatsuya Imai, has spoke out about eager to take the Dodgers down.
“In fact, I’d take pleasure in enjoying alongside Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki,” Imai mentioned to former MLB starter Daisuke Matsuzaka on “Hodo Station”, “however successful in opposition to a workforce like that and changing into a world champion could be essentially the most beneficial factor in my life. If something, I’d quite take them down.”
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He elaborated additional on his preferences for a workforce, stating he wouldn’t need to be part of a workforce with a Japanese participant on it.
“If there have been one other Japanese participant on the identical workforce, I may simply ask them about something, proper?” Imai mentioned. “However that’s really not what I’m in search of. In a means, I need to expertise that sense of survival. Once I come face-to-face with cultural variations, I need to see how I can overcome them alone — that’s a part of what I’m enthusiastic about.”
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One workforce who suits the invoice for Imai’s {qualifications} is the San Francisco Giants, who’ve been repeatedly linked to the right-hander. That being mentioned, ESPN’s Buster Olney experiences they haven’t checked with higher-end arms this offseason, which may point out they aren’t trying to herald a pitcher like Imai.
Imai has spent all 9 of his skilled seasons with the Saitama Seibu Lions, and has taken over the league over the previous couple of years. In 2025, he posted a 1.92 ERA by means of 24 stars, and struck out 178 batters by means of 163.2 innings pitched.
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Picture Credit score: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Photographs
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