Japanese pitcher Imai begins process to join MLB

TOKYO — Tatsuya Imai is likely to be the next Japanese pitcher to move to a Major League team after his club, Seibu Lions, said Monday it would begin the process of making him available — a process called «posting.»

Imai, 27, had a record of 10-5 this season with a 1.92 ERA and 178 strikeouts to just 45 walks. The right-hander has a powerful fastball and has played his entire career in Japan.

He has made great progress with his command over the last few seasons, taking his walks-per-nine innings rate from 5.1 in 2022 to 4.1 in 2023 to 3.6 in 2024 to 2.5 in 2025. Imai isn’t just a touch-and-feel type, with his fastball sitting between 93 mph-97 mph and hitting 99 mph. Imai has also been effective even when his walk rates were higher, posting an ERA under 3.00 for the last four seasons in NPB.

The news of his posting comes on the heels of Japanese star third baseman Munetaka Murakami starting the posting process on Friday, according to sources. Murakami, 25, owns the single-season home run record for a Japanese player in Nippon Professional Baseball. He hit 56 homers in 2022, breaking Sadaharu Oh’s record 55 set in 1964.

Imai’s market is expected to be robust due to his age, reliability and ability to make adjustments. Another factor helping his case is that Imai will not be subject to a qualifying offer, so the team that signs him won’t have to give up draft compensation like they will for fellow free agent starting pitchers Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, Ranger Suarez, Zac Gallen, Michael King, Shota Imanaga, and Brandon Woodruff.

Under the agreement with Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball, the posting period for a player runs from Nov. 1 until Dec. 15. Players have 45 days following the posting to reach an agreement with an MLB team.

Information from ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.