The Tampa Bay Rays primarily fly under the radar. They may want to keep flying under the radar, especially as they consider poaching a popular free-agent target from the large-market clubs. Everything the Rays do is designed to exert maximum impact.
Japanese starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai remains unsigned as his posting window is set to come to a close. The right-hander recently broke his silence regarding free agency and painted a discouraging portrait of the process. Could the Rays make a late push for the talented starting pitcher?
Could the Rays make a last-second push for this Japanese hurler?
Imai, 27, has pitched in Japan with the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for a total of eight seasons. Toting a career 3.15 ERA, he enjoyed a breakout 2025 season during which he posted a 1.92 ERA in 163 2/3 innings along with a healthy 27.8% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate. That success, however, hasn’t necessarily led to the whirlwind payday in free agency that Yoshinobu Yamamoto received two winters ago.
Japanese star reveals where his MLB status stands with signing deadline days away https://t.co/vc7B9XHYoe pic.twitter.com/qJX2CQjMFt
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) December 29, 2025
“Apparently, there actually aren’t many concrete options on the table yet,” Imai said during a recent interview on Japanese TV Asahi’s “Udo Times” when speaking about the free agent negotiation process. “And it seems that having teams show interest and receiving a formal offer are completely different things.”
Imai has until January 2 at 5:00 p.m. ET to sign with an MLB team, or he returns to the NPB. Any club signing Imai will owe a posting fee that is based on the overall contract amount. According to the New York Post, Imai is currently in the United States meeting with teams.
Rays in the market for another pitcher
The Rays have a couple of items remaining on their offseason shopping list. One of those tasks is finding more starting pitcher depth after the club traded Shane Baz to the Orioles for a quartet of prospects and a draft pick. It seems really risky to rely on Shane McClanahan pitching a full slate of games next season. Drew Rasmussen has a rather lengthy injury history. Ryan Pepiot set a career-high with 167 2/3 innings pitched last season. Steven Matz is attempting to return to the starting rotation.
The adage in baseball is that no team relies on the same group of starting pitchers over the course of a full season. The Rays have young starting pitchers who need protection over the course of a long regular season. Imai could provide the type of upside the club is desperately seeking.
The Rays could be a surprise contender.
One of the best parts about this period of the offseason is the so-called “mystery team” during free agency. It feels like every prospective free agent has a group of known suitors and at least one mystery suitor. The Rays can play that role when it comes to the Imai sweepstakes.
Munetaka Murakami signing with the Chicago White Sox certainly surprised observers, but it makes a ton of sense for both sides. The White Sox can demonstrate they are serious about contending while selling plenty of merchandise. Murakami can post impressive numbers and prove that he deserves a larger contract with another team. The Rays have experience signing Japanese players, including Yoshi Tsutsugo. Unfortunately, as Tsutsugo’s career demonstrated, there’s an inherent risk in signing a player who has played their entire career on another continent.
The Rays stand to gain.
The Rays could capitalize on Imai not receiving the contract he initially envisioned. It could make sense for the Japanese hurler to accept a short-term, higher average annual contract with opt-outs. After Imai pitches well in a Rays uniform, he can depart for a club that is equipped to pay him big bucks. The Rays don’t have much payroll wiggle room, but signing someone like Imai could pay for itself in the short term.
The Rays have employed talented pitchers like Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell before seeing them flourish in other environments while earning more money. Still, the club was able to capitalize on each of those players in a Rays uniform. Rays fans can only hope that Imai will shake up the post-holiday news cycle with a surprising signing.
Main Photo Credits: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images