Tatsuya Imai to the Astros

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, Dfan25 said:

If he isn’t making visits , then yeah he can wait until the 2nd . I think the Cubs will end up with Gallen TBH . While Nightendale obviously jumped the gun with his tweet earlier , i doubt  he was completely making things up

 The AAV he mentioned n that tweet seems about right ( QO value 22 mil ). I think 4 / 88 or something like that  After that they will probably sign Ramon Urías and call it an offseason 

I figured Gallen or someone in his tier too, like you said it fits perfect for where they stand money wise if Hoyer still plans on holding money for ahem in season moves while staying under Threshold. 

They're about 43 under now, so yea 20-22 mil on a SP, and maybe 5 more on pen or bench will leave him close to 15 for that famous in season moves, which feels more like replacing the crap bench/pen guys that horsefeathers the bed in April/May then actually adding a big bat and or arm at the deadline. 

[CubinNY]

Yes, my guess is that Hoyer gave them his best offer and they are shopping it or a better offer from another team. Boras will wait until the last minute to see what happens. 

[Tryptamine]

I shouldn't be, but part of me is surprised he'd taking it right down to the deadline. I thought for sure he'd want this done before New Year's. Still a little time, but not much.

[Jason Ross]

13 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

I shouldn't be, but part of me is surprised he'd taking it right down to the deadline. I thought for sure he'd want this done before New Year's. Still a little time, but not much.

As much as I want to avoid tea-leaf reading, that's probably a good thing for the Cubs based on what we have heard (wanting to avoid $150m+) and how they have handled Suzuki/Imanaga in the past in similar ways. 

You'd assume if Imai was getting his top line number, with Boras, it could be wrapped up (I.E. see Cease and Toronto). So if he's coming under that, probably means the Cubs stand a strong chance. 

[Cuzi]

1 hour ago, Tryptamine said:

I shouldn't be, but part of me is surprised he'd taking it right down to the deadline. I thought for sure he'd want this done before New Year's. Still a little time, but not much.

I never bought into that "he probably wants to get this done before Christmas/New Years."

We are talking about a $150M contract here. I think you can give up 1 year of holidays that your agent is mostly handling anyways.

[Hortonhearsawho]

I think the general silence this late in the posting likely means he won't be getting the 150M + that some people were projecting. So that probably is good news for Cubs. 

[Rcal10]

13 minutes ago, Hortonhearsawho said:

I think the general silence this late in the posting likely means he won't be getting the 150M + that some people were projecting. So that probably is good news for Cubs. 

If he comes to the Cubs, he might end up with a similar sort of contract as Imanaga. Not necessarily the AAV, but a similar set up. 

[Bertz]

Imai has to sign by Friday afternoon.  Not just agree to terms but everything needs to be done by then.  Contract, physical, all the administrative stuff that goes into a signing.  As far as I can tell, no NPB player has taken their posting all the way down to the wire before, presumably because of the administrative work required even after an agreement.  The latest I can find someone agreeing is Murakami last week, ~30 hours before his window closed.  So let's say 24 hours is the absolute drop dead to get everything done that needs to be done?

That means Imai HAS to agree to a deal by Thursday afternoon, and that's assuming the holiday doesn't necessitate additional buffer (probably a bad assumption).  So sure Imai can drag this out through the holiday, but that feels like eyewash.  What deal is going to come along Thursday morning that isn't there Tuesday morning?  Feels like Boras calling pencils down today or tomorrow, get all that admin crap out of the way Tuesday early, fly home Tuesday night and enjoy New Years with the friends and family is the obvious way to play things.

Like others have said the fact that it's even gone this far is a sign that he's probably not getting a massive deal.  Yamamoto's posting window ended on January 4th and he was signed before Christmas.  Murakami and Imanaga both agreed ~2 days before their deadline and their contracts were soft.  My guess is he's looking at more like Kevin Gausman money (5/$110M) than Dylan Cease money.

[Cuzi]

Feels more like people are just trying to twist and bend the narratives to make it fit for the Cubs and convince themselves he's coming to Chicago. He might and the prices may indeed be falling, but at the same time, it's hard for me to believe that when a team like the Yankees were in and then all of a sudden dead in the water.

[Rcal10]

35 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

Feels more like people are just trying to twist and bend the narratives to make it fit for the Cubs and convince themselves he's coming to Chicago. He might and the prices may indeed be falling, but at the same time, it's hard for me to believe that when a team like the Yankees were in and then all of a sudden dead in the water.

Cubs have had some history of signing Japanese players and generally it has played out how this situation appears to be  playing out. So I do understand those reading tea leaves. But that doesn’t mean he will come here. I do think he isn’t getting the offers he expected. And that does help the Cubs a bit. I wouldn’t say the Cubs are likely to get him, but I do think they have a good chance. 

[Bertz]

Can't vouch for this account but Greg Z retweeted it.  Kinda sounds to me like the thing you do after you've requested best and finals from everybody.

[Jason Ross]

16 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Can't vouch for this account but Greg Z retweeted it.  Kinda sounds to me like the thing you do after you've requested best and finals from everybody.

Followed by Bruce Levine as well FWIW

[mk49]

21 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Can't vouch for this account but Greg Z retweeted it.  Kinda sounds to me like the thing you do after you've requested best and finals from everybody.

Supposedly, Imai said those things on TV yesterday.  

[mk49]

I found a Japanese article about the TV interview.  Here's the Google translation.

 

Imai is currently in the United States and had a meeting with his agent. When asked, "Which team are you interested in joining?", he replied, "Surprisingly, there aren't really any specific teams that have been mentioned as candidates. It seems that the teams that are interested and those that have made a formal offer are completely different things."

He calmly continued, "Of course, there will be other teams trying to acquire other players, and the market for other players will likely change things.  I want to make the best decision in that situation. I have a family, and I want to make the best choice for them."

[Hortonhearsawho]

I have no idea what any of this means but it's definitely interesting at least. 

[Rcal10]

I have a bad feeling the Cubs are not getting him. Going to end up with Gallen in the rotation. No idea what they do for a bat who can play a little first base. 

[Irrelevant Dude]

29 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

No idea what they do for a bat who can play a little first base. 

Didn't they already sign the right handed bench bat who can play first base?

[Hortonhearsawho]

13 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Didn't they already sign the right handed bench bat who can play first base?

Yes

[Rcal10]

28 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Didn't they already sign the right handed bench bat who can play first base?

 

14 minutes ago, Hortonhearsawho said:

Yes

Who, the guy from Japan? I thought I read he hasn’t played first base in 3 or 4 years and before that didn’t play there much. Besides that, is he really a guy we can pencil in on the bench? Maybe it will be him. But then maybe all the will add is one pitcher. Personally I would like another decent bat, however. 

[chibears55]

4 hours ago, mk49 said:

I found a Japanese article about the TV interview.  Here's the Google translation.

 

Imai is currently in the United States and had a meeting with his agent. When asked, "Which team are you interested in joining?", he replied, "Surprisingly, there aren't really any specific teams that have been mentioned as candidates. It seems that the teams that are interested and those that have made a formal offer are completely different things."

He calmly continued, "Of course, there will be other teams trying to acquire other players, and the market for other players will likely change things.  I want to make the best decision in that situation. I have a family, and I want to make the best choice for them."

Cubs writers seem to always put Hoyer/Cubs down as being interested in certain big name players that fits a need, and it possible Hoyer or Hawkins will give an agent a call to say hello and see what they're looking to get and that will ignite a Cubs checked in or are interested write, but yea 99.99% of time it means nothing and they never make an offer.

 

[Hortonhearsawho]

4 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Cubs writers seem to always put Hoyer/Cubs down as being interested in certain big name players that fits a need, and it possible Hoyer or Hawkins will give an agent a call to say hello and see what they're looking to get and that will ignite a Cubs checked in or are interested write, but yea 99.99% of time it means nothing and they never make an offer.

 

They still need another infielder but 1B isn't a huge worry anymore. 

[Rcal10]

10 minutes ago, Hortonhearsawho said:

They still need another infielder but 1B isn't a huge worry anymore. 

Probably true if you have faith in the cheap signing from Japan. So that being the case, I have a bad feeling it will be Gallen and someone they sign for $5M to $7M for the bench.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Gallen probably only gets 1-2 guaranteed years. Easy to see Jed wanting to bet on the bounceback. I still think he has to make a big trade. Im just not sure he has the best package to offer for a guy like Cabrera.

[Rcal10]

6 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

Gallen probably only gets 1-2 guaranteed years. Easy to see Jed wanting to bet on the bounceback. I still think he has to make a big trade. Im just not sure he has the best package to offer for a guy like Cabrera.

Why do you say this? Cubs have a lot of near ready bats. IMO they can easily put something together for Cabrera. I am just not sure what bat they sign if they did trade for Cabrera. That would have a good amount of money to spend but not enough for Bregman. 

[mk49]

Found the latest Imai news in Japanese.  Here's the translation.

Tatsuya Imai (27), a pitcher for the Seibu Lions who is seeking a move to Major League Baseball through the posting system, responded to an interview request from Sports Hochi through his representatives on the 28th (29th Japan time), stating, "I am currently in Los Angeles negotiating with my agent regarding numerous offers I have received. I have also had meetings with several teams."

 

I guess they just do online meetings nowadays.