Japanese Pitcher Tatsuya Imai Could Get Posted, Drawing Interest From MLB Scouts

Tatsuya Imai has been firing on all cylinders with the Saitama Seibu Lions this spring, and big league scouts are apparently taking notice.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported Thursday that Imai is already drawing interest from MLB teams and scouts. The Lions are considering posting the 26-year-old right-hander to free agency at the end of the season, as they have done with Yusei Kikuchi and Daisuke Matsuzaka in the past.

Through five Nippon Professional Baseball starts in 2025, Imai is 2-1 with a 0.69 ERA, 0.781 WHIP and 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Imai turned pro in 2017, before he even turned 19 years old. He reached the Pacific League for the first time in 2018 and has been a mainstay in the Lions' rotation ever since.

In his NPB career, Imai is 50-41 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.315 WHIP and 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings, relying on his fastball and slider to generate whiffs. The 5-foot-11, 154-pound righty was named an All-Star in both 2021 and 2024.

Imai would be just the latest Japanese pitcher to make his way to the majors, if the Lions do indeed agree to let him pursue the opportunity. Kodai Senga arrived in 2023, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga came over in 2024, then Roki Sasaki and Tomoyuki Sugano joined MLB in 2025.

If the Lions don't want to let Imai walk this coming winter, he could do so under his own power and skirt the posting system entirely after the 2026 campaign. Seibu has Kaima Teira and Kona Takahashi in their rotation as well, two more pitchers who could eye MLB down the line.

It remains to be seen which MLB teams specifically are interested in Imai's services. While the Los Angeles Dodgers have made a habit of pursuing Japanese aces in recent years, there may not be much room left for Imai to slot in beside Yamamoto, Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani.