Tatsuya Imai's concerning comments prove SF Giants were probably smart to steer clear

In the offseason, the SF Giants were connected to Japanese starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai. The speculation was mostly done by national baseball types based on San Francisco’s need for starting pitching and Imai’s stated desire to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers rather than join them.

Imai ended up signing with the Houston Astros on a fairly reasonable contract as the Giants opted for more modest additions in Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle. Even though Houser and Mahle have been far from stellar, the Giants probably have to be glad they steered clear from Imai based his recent comments.

SF Giants probably wise to avoid Tatsuya Imai (at least for now)

Through his interpreter, it is clear that Imai is struggling to adjust to American culture. The interpreter said of Imai: “He’s not able to adjust to the American lifestyle.” He went on to say that Imai is struggling to get used to differences between how MLB clubs do things and how his team in Japan did things.

That’s natural and it’s completely understandable that there would be an adjustment period for Imai given the complete culture shock. Yoshinobu Yamamoto struggled early during his tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers but eventually became dominant. Maybe Imai can follow a similar path. It is concerning though because naturally there could be a thought that Imai is not cut out for the big leagues if he his homesick.

Imai is currently on the IL with arm fatigue and through three starts he has a 7.27 ERA with 13 strikeouts and 11 walks in 8 and 2/3 innings. It’s clear that he’s just out of whack right now as he adjusts to everything so it may take some time before he looks like the dominant pitcher he was in Japan.

In a way, this could end up working to San Francisco’s benefit. Imai signed three-year, $54 million deal with Houston with an opt-out after each of the first two seasons. It would not shock anyone if Imai decided to opt out and test the open market after this season.

If he did, then maybe the Giants could make a run for him. Perhaps if he does okay but not great in his first season he will not get the exorbitant six-figure contract that makes Giants chairman Greg Johnson wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. Maybe San Francisco could get him for a few years at roughly $20 million per season and they’ll be getting an Imai who is more fully adjusted and acclimated to his new environment. 

The Giants only have Logan Webb, Landen Roupp, and Adrian Houser under contract for next season so the Giants will likely be in a similar position to the one they were in last offseason with two spots to fill in the starting rotation.

Maybe the Giants were wise to wait on Imai for a year and then next season they can get the best version of the intriguing 27-year-old pitcher. 

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