SF Giants prove they aren't serious after Tatsuya Imai contract details emerge

The SF Giants appear to be all done with their rotation after reportedly signing Tyler Mahle to a one-year deal. However, with Tatsuya Imai reportedly signing a reasonable contract with the Houston Astros, one cannot help but wonder why the Giants were not more willing to go after him.

Imai reportedly signed with Houston on a three-year deal with $54 million guaranteed with escalators that could push that total up to $63 million per year with opt-outs after each season. It is a far different deal than the nine-figure contract most were predicting and would have been much more doable for a Giants team that was obviously reluctant to go into that nine-figure range.

SF Giants should have made more of a push for Tatsuya Imai

So why were the Giants not heavily involved in Imai talks? Maybe their own evaluations of his potential to translate his solid numbers in Japan to the major leagues were not as rosy as some of the other teams out there. Maybe the team did not want another opt-out heavy deal like the ones they had done in the past with pitchers like Carlos Ródon and Blake Snell only to see them depart after one season.

Who knows for sure? Perhaps we will get more clarity the next time we hear from president of baseball operations Buster Posey and general manager Zack Minasian.

Instead, the Giants opted to fill the two holes in their rotation with Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle. Both pitchers are solid and could definitely prove to be wise signings, but with all due respect to the both of them no one is going to tune into games or show up to the ballpark to see them pitch.

After Imai’s comments earlier this offseason about wanting to go up against the Los Angeles Dodgers and face someone like Shohei Ohtani rather than join him, Giants fans couldn’t help but get excited thinking about the fireworks a matchup between Imai and the Dodgers could produce. 

Posey has talked about how the Giants are in the memory-making business, and a showdown between Imai and Ohtani is more likely to produce a memory than one between Ohtani and Mahle.

The Giants just clearly were scared to go after any of the top pitchers on the market this offseason. Giants chairman Greg Johnson did not even dance around that subject so it seems Posey’s orders were clear: get pitching on the cheap. That’s exactly what they did.

It just gives off the impression that the Giants are not truly serious about doing everything they can to win. Maybe they get lucky like they did in 2021 but this roster does not seem like a playoff contender as currently constructed.

Maybe Mahle and Houser work out great. But the Giants have been a mediocre team for years now and it is difficult to see how these signings will help them get to the next level and back to the playoffs especially since the San Diego Padres and Dodgers are so clearly ahead of them in the National League West.

Perhaps Imai is a bust and does not work out, but he definitely seems to have a higher ceiling which is something the Giants need if they want to be competitive, but it is not altogether clear if that is what they want.