"Well the big news of the day was the Braves being linked in multiple spots to Tatsuya Imai. I have been pushing Imai a bit for the past few weeks for the Braves, as he makes a ton of sense. He wouldn't cost the 26th overall pick to sign him, which is a huge advantage over the other top starters on the market like Framber Valdez."
"He has plenty of upside as his final season in Japan was just a tick off of Yoshinobu Yamamoto's last three years in Japan. Perhaps most significantly, he is still only entering his age 28 season and is expected to sign a deal for no more than 5-6 years, with perhaps a shorter deal being possible with what seems like a weak market, meaning he isn't signing a deal that is likely to see a massive age cliff."
"There is of course additional risk in signing a player who hasn't played in MLB to significant money and there is perhaps less information for the front office to use in vetting him, however, so it is not without risk or downside. We will find out very soon where Imai signs, as his posting window closes on January 2 at 5pm, but I sure hope it is Atlanta."
Atlanta is showing strong interest in Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai as his international posting window closes on January 2 at 5pm. Imai would not require surrendering the 26th overall pick, making him more affordable than other top free-agent starters such as Framber Valdez. His final NPB season closely matched Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s recent output, and he enters age 28, creating upside without a long-term aging cliff given expected five- to six-year contracts. Signing carries risk because he lacks MLB experience and has less vetting data. Former Brave Jarred Kelenic signed a minor-league deal with the White Sox.
Read at Battery Power
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]