Saitama Seibu Lions Post Pitcher Tatsuya Imai for MLB

Tatsuya Imai, a standout right-handed pitcher from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, became available to Major League Baseball teams on Monday when his club, the Saitama Seibu Lions, officially posted him for the free agent market. The 27-year-old, who has spent eight seasons with the Lions, now has 45 days to negotiate and sign with an MLB team, a process that could see him join the ranks of successful Japanese imports like Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Imai's posting comes after a dominant 2025 season in which he posted a 1.92 ERA over 163 2/3 innings across 24 starts, striking out 178 batters while issuing just 45 walks. He also threw five complete games and three shutouts, earning his third All-Star selection. Standing at 5-foot-11 and 154 pounds, Imai relies on deception and velocity rather than size. His four-seam fastball averages 93-95 mph but has reached 99 mph, complemented by a slider that generated a 45 percent whiff rate last year, a splitter, sinker, curveball, and a distinctive Vulcan changeup gripped between his middle and ring fingers.

Throughout his NPB career, Imai has maintained a 3.15 ERA, striking out more than a quarter of batters faced in each of the past two...