Tatsuya Imai to the Astros

[ILMindState]

When Imanaga signed there was no news of him doing meetings. He had been staying in the area for a month and we didn't t even know til after he signed. The Cubs should put Imai up in a suite at Soldier Field tonight so he can feel the Chicago vibes first hand. 

[Jason Ross]

15 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

The info that’s coming out on Imai makes no sense whatsoever . So we are 13 days away from his deadline with Christmas and new year in the middle of that .

 

He hasn’t visit any teams yet , and doesn’t have any schedule visits . That’s super weird .  Has to be complete BS .

Levine suggested he's met with the Cubs on air. That I can say. 

If you want a positive, this whole thing reminds me a lot of Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga; we had some rumblings the Cubs were interested, but really, until signing day, it was basically crickets on actual reporting from around the league. Sieya looked primed to end up in SD just hours before he penned with the Cubs, and Imanaga was living in Chicago without anything. 

[thawv]

41 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

The info that’s coming out on Imai makes no sense whatsoever . So we are 13 days away from his deadline with Christmas and new year in the middle of that .

 

He hasn’t visit any teams yet , and doesn’t have any schedule visits . That’s super weird .  Has to be complete BS .

I'm sure it's BS.  

[mk49]

What about Murakami?  I'm not saying the Cubs should sign him, but he has to sign within a few days.  I haven't heard he visited some teams.  

I remember Shota said he asked Darvish about the Cubs, before he joined.  Darvish told Shota good things about the team and the city, I guess.  I would think Imai does/did the same thing, asking Shota and Seiya, even though he said he didn't want to ask other Japanese guys to get answers.  

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, Jason Ross said:

Gave it a listen. Not a lot of substance. 

Honestly, I didn’t think we would get much substance. Been an “inside the clubhouse” listener a long time. They like teasing people into thinking they have info to share and then don’t really have anything. 

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, mk49 said:

What about Murakami?  I'm not saying the Cubs should sign him, but he has to sign within a few days.  I haven't heard he visited some teams.  

I remember Shota said he asked Darvish about the Cubs, before he joined.  Darvish told Shota good things about the team and the city, I guess.  I would think Imai does/did the same thing, asking Shota and Seiya, even though he said he didn't want to ask other Japanese guys to get answers.  

Murakami deadline is Monday, I wouldn't be surprise if Imai decision comes on Tuesday if he wants to get it done before the holidays. His deadline is January 2nd

 

[CubUgly]

8 hours ago, Illiterate Scholar said:

Breaking down the phrasing of a Bruce Levine tweet is always a tricky game.

But also where we are in the calendar, I'd kinda hope the answer is yes.

I'm not saying Bruce is a shill for the Cubs because Marquee is paying him....but I will say because of that realI don't give much value to any takes of his. 

[ILMindState]

Mooney: If Imai winds up matching the high-end estimates out there — The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected an eight-year, $190 million contract plus a $30 million posting fee — then the Japanese pitcher likely won’t be a Cub.

This big-market franchise usually doesn’t win those types of bidding wars. While the Cubs are intrigued by Imai’s potential and are knowledgeable about his game, they don’t seem to be totally convinced that he will be a true ace worthy of that level of long-term investment.

[Illiterate Scholar]

Maybe this will look silly very soon, but I predict his contract ends up surprisingly "low". I also wonder if the confusion around whether he's done his visits yet or not is because teams aren't viewing him as a full formal visit, get out the red carpet, have dinner at Steve Cohen's house kind of player. 

Edited December 22, 2025 by Illiterate Scholar

[Dfan25]

I don’t think Imai is getting 8 / 190 . However , I think the Cubs will likely top out at  6 / 138  ( 23 on AAV ) . Would that be enough ? Doubt it .

[Cuzi]

55 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

Mooney: If Imai winds up matching the high-end estimates out there — The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected an eight-year, $190 million contract plus a $30 million posting fee — then the Japanese pitcher likely won’t be a Cub.

This big-market franchise usually doesn’t win those types of bidding wars. While the Cubs are intrigued by Imai’s potential and are knowledgeable about his game, they don’t seem to be totally convinced that he will be a true ace worthy of that level of long-term investment.

The Cubs have only given Ohtani at least an 8 year offer, if that tells you anything about how convinced they need to be.

[Irrelevant Dude]

22 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

I don’t think Imai is getting 8 / 190 . However , I think the Cubs will likely top out at  6 / 138  ( 23 on AAV ) . Would that be enough ? Doubt it .

But will Jed publicly thank dear leader Ricketts for allowing him to make an offer?

[Tryptamine]

8/190 He doesn't need to be an ace. That's the going rate for a #2/3 now.

[Jason Ross]

23 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

I don’t think Imai is getting 8 / 190 . However , I think the Cubs will likely top out at  6 / 138  ( 23 on AAV ) . Would that be enough ? Doubt it .

It depends. There have been projections as low as $80m and high as $200m. It's hard to determine his market right now; who is in? Yankees have been reported to be mostly out, as have the Red Sox. The Giants are acting like they don't have money. The Dodgers don't seem to be in on the top end pitching market. So it's hard to figure out who's bidding this thing up to $190m. It could happen; teams "out" might not be, for example. We will see. I think it'll end up at $22m-24m AAV over about 6. 

[Bertz]

57 minutes ago, Illiterate Scholar said:

Maybe this will look silly very soon, but I predict his contract ends up surprisingly "low". I also wonder if the confusion around whether he's done his visits yet or not is because teams aren't viewing him as a full formal visit, get out the red carpet, have dinner at Steve Cohen's house kind of player. 

We're now at 3 in a row NPB imports getting very different contracts from what was expected going into the winter.  Yamamoto blasted expectations out of the water, Imanaga came in a little soft, and Murakami faceplanted.

Given how quiet it has been I wouldn't be surprised if you were right.  Also it would be very on brand for how the discourse around this team always goes if the Cubs got their guy but a big chunk of the fans were still mad because they didn't pay enough for him.

[Tryptamine]

I just don't see how they realistically put together an acceptable offseason without Imai at this point

[Manny Trillos Brother]

I think the pivot is empty the farm for Joe Ryan or McKenzie Gore, then second pivot is mostly empty the farm for one of the Marlins guys. I'm surprised a trade of some substance hasn't happened yet.

[mk49]

1 hour ago, Bertz said:

We're now at 3 in a row NPB imports getting very different contracts from what was expected going into the winter.  Yamamoto blasted expectations out of the water, Imanaga came in a little soft, and Murakami faceplanted.

Given how quiet it has been I wouldn't be surprised if you were right.  Also it would be very on brand for how the discourse around this team always goes if the Cubs got their guy but a big chunk of the fans were still mad because they didn't pay enough for him.

I heard Yamamoto was one of the best pitchers ever in Japan, and he was only 25.  Only the Dodgers would do that kind of deal for somebody who never pitched in MLB.  Shota took less money, because he liked the Cubs.  Murakami isn't a pitcher, so it's different.

That said, I kind of agree.  I don't think he's gonna get $160+m.  Maybe, 6yrs, $20m AAV.

[Bertz]

9 minutes ago, mk49 said:

I heard Yamamoto was one of the best pitchers ever in Japan, and he was only 25.  Only the Dodgers would do that kind of deal for somebody who never pitched in MLB.  Shota took less money, because he liked the Cubs.  Murakami isn't a pitcher, so it's different.

That said, I kind of agree.  I don't think he's gonna get $160+m.  Maybe, 6yrs, $20m AAV.

I don't know if those first two are true.  I believe with Yamamoto the Yankees (and Mets?) were in there til the end.  And Imanaga at the end had to pick between the Cubs and the Pirates, his market was much softer than anticipated coming into the winter.

That doesn't mean Imai is going to be cheap.  But Yamamoto there was a very public bidding war for and the other two guys were suspiciously quiet.  And Imai's very much trending in the suspiciously quiet direction.

[mk49]

27 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I don't know if those first two are true.  I believe with Yamamoto the Yankees (and Mets?) were in there til the end.  And Imanaga at the end had to pick between the Cubs and the Pirates, his market was much softer than anticipated coming into the winter.

That doesn't mean Imai is going to be cheap.  But Yamamoto there was a very public bidding war for and the other two guys were suspiciously quiet.  And Imai's very much trending in the suspiciously quiet direction.

I thought the Cub's contract with Shota was about right.  I thought the Red Sox or the Braves was trying to get him, too, and one of those teams was supposed to offer him a better deal.  It's been 2 years, so I don't remember for sure.

I was just reading about Yamamoto.  He had the Japanese version of Cy Young 3 years in a row and was a MVP in those 3 years, which tied the record (as a pitcher) in Japan.  Imai is nothing like that.

I hope your "suspiciously quiet" thing leads to a cheaper than expected contract for Imai.  BTW, I just watched Murakami's press conference.  He said he talked to Seiya and Shota, after he signed.  Hopefully, Imai has been talking to them.

Either way, I want Imai to sign ASAP, so we don't need to talk and worry about this anymore.  

Edited December 22, 2025 by mk49

[Backtobanks]

4 hours ago, Cuzi said:

The Cubs have only given Ohtani at least an 8 year offer, if that tells you anything about how convinced they need to be.

Allegedly

[Bull]

18 hours ago, Cuzi said:

The Cubs have only given Ohtani at least an 8 year offer, if that tells you anything about how convinced they need to be.

Imai is three years younger. I think the Cubs will surprise us with the length they will give to a 27 year old. 

[Guest]

He got me feeling like, ooooh

I knew it when I met him, I loved it when they left him

He has to go--to the Cubs!

 

Tatsuya, ooh na-na

All of my heart is with Tatsuya, ooh na-na

He took me back to east Kyoto, ooh na-na.

All of my heart is with Tatsuya

There's something about his manners

Tatsuya, ooh-na na.

oh na na na

Edited December 23, 2025 by The Cubs Dude

[thawv]

20 hours ago, ILMindState said:

Mooney: If Imai winds up matching the high-end estimates out there — The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected an eight-year, $190 million contract plus a $30 million posting fee — then the Japanese pitcher likely won’t be a Cub.

This big-market franchise usually doesn’t win those types of bidding wars. While the Cubs are intrigued by Imai’s potential and are knowledgeable about his game, they don’t seem to be totally convinced that he will be a true ace worthy of that level of long-term investment.

It's 100% about the contract.  Even if they thought he would be the best pitcher in baseball for years, they won't pay him that amount.  

[Dfan25]

Kaplan says he is hearing the Cubs aren’t seriously involved on Imai , unless it’s a shorter term deal .