3 reasons Tatsuya Imai should be the NY Mets' top priority

Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai will soon be posted for all 30 MLB teams to negotiate with, and according to Andy Martino of SNY, the New York Mets will be in the running for the hurler. According to Martino, while the Mets may not be as interested in Imai as they were with Yoshinobu Yamamoto during the 2023-2024 offseason, Imai will be one of the pitchers they will look into acquiring this offseason. They need a starting pitcher, and reportedly are going to pursue a frontline option. However, there are plenty of more reasons why Imai should be the Mets’ top priority when it comes to free agent pitchers, and for multiple reasons.

There are many reasons why the NY Mets shouldn't just go after Imai, but why they should make him their top priority.

His projected price

Imai is projected to make less in free agency than many of the top free agent pitchers. The right-hander is ranked among the top ten free agents this offseason in baseball, both by MLB Trade Rumors and Jim Bowden of The Athletic. Both hold a similar opinion of Imai. MLB TR projects he will earn $150 million over six years ($25 million average annual value). Bowden sees Imai making $154 million over seven seasons ($22 million AAV).

This is less than what other top free agent starting pitchers are projected to make. Dylan Cease is MLB TR’s third-best free agent and the top starting pitcher available, and has him earning a seven-year deal worth $189 million ($27 AAV), while Bowden has Cease signing for six years at $187 million ($31.17 million AAV). Framber Valdez is another consensus top-ten free agent, with MLB TR having him earning a five-year, $150 million contract ($30 million AAV), and Bowden pining him to sign a more lucrative six-year, $189 million deal ($31.17 AAV). Both Cease and Valdez could sign for upwards of $30 million a year, while Imai may not break $25 million a season.

His age

Imai is not an old pitcher. 2025 was only his age-27 season, and he won’t turn 28 until the first week of May 2026. Both Cease and Valdez will be in their age-30 or older seasons in 2026. The former is already 29 and turns 30 in December. The latter is already 31 and turns 32 later in November. Overall, Imai is one of the youngest players on the free agent market this offseason (that we know will be posted). He will be the youngest MLB free agent pitcher (if Woo Jin An does not get posted), and the third youngest free agent besides Munetaka Murakami (if An and Baek Ho Kang do not get posted) in this year’s class.

His overall ability

It shouldn’t need to be said, but Imai is one of the best pitchers in NPB. Last season, he put up a 1.92 ERA, 2.01 FIP, and 0.89 WHIP over 163.2 innings of work. He was one of only four qualified starters with an ERA under 2.00 and a WHIP under 1.00. His 27.8% K% was the best in the league this season, and only walked 7% of opponents. His 20.7% K%-BB% was 20.7%, the third best among NPB starting pitchers. K-BB% is an important stat when predicting future ERA, and Imai excelled in it during 2025. While it may have been against NPB batting, many of the top pitchers from NPB in recent history have at least been solid in MLB, like Masahiro Tanaka, Kenta Maeda, Yusei Kikuchi, Shohei Ohtani, Kodai Senga, Shota Imanaga, and Yamamoto.

Imai’s fastball sits in the mid-to-upper-90s, touching 99 MPH. He has dramatically improved his strike-throwing as well. In 2023, he walked 11.3% of opponents, cut that down to 9.8% in 2024, then to 7% this year. He also throws a slider and a splitter. Stuff is something the Mets seem to value a ton, and Imai has really good stuff. FanGraphs is bullish on Imai’s athleticism, stating that “delivery arguably doesn’t take full advantage of his special athleticism and flexibility, and he might find another gear in MLB.”