“Don’t Think He’ll Be Signing With Them,” MLB Insider Provides Grim Update Regarding Yankees Pursuit of Tatsuya Imai

As per reports, the New York Yankees have not met with Tatsuya Imai and do not have any meetings planned with him at the moment.

“Don’t Think He’ll Be Signing With Them,” MLB Insider Provides Grim Update Regarding Yankees Pursuit of Tatsuya Imai

Tatsuya Imai (Image via MLB)

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The New York Yankees are having a quiet offseason. Apart from re-signing some of the players, they have not brought in any major pieces to the team. On Tuesday, an MLB insider provided some more grim updates regarding their pursuit of top free agent Tatsuya Imai.

The Japanese international has been one name that several teams have been linked with. The 25-year-old went 10-5 with the Seibu Lions in the 2025 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season. In 24 games, he pitched with a low 1.92 ERA and picked up 178 strikeouts.

The Yankees are one of them who are said to be in the sweepstakes of him. However, there has been no major breakthrough in this.

A few days ago, Yankees manager Aaron Boone commented on this. During an event on Friday, Boone claimed that the team had not met Imai and did not have any meetings set with him for the future.

On Tuesday’s episode of Yankees Hot Stove, Jack Curry would speak on Imai’s link with the Yankees. The YES Network insider revealed getting vibes that the team was not “connected” with the right-handed pitcher and delivered some unpleasant update for the Yankees fans.

With Imai, the Yankees have been very quiet. I don’t think the Yankees have been as aggressive, as intense in any kind of pursuit of Imai. They are making some moves around the edges… but I don’t think they are the frontrunners for Imai, and I don’t think he’ll be signing with them.

Jack Curry said regarding Tatsuya Imai

These words from him come at a time when the team are having a slow start to the offseason. Apart from the return of Trent Grisham due to him accepting the qualifying offer of the team, the team has not made any major signings.

In the offseason, the team have so far re-signed Amed Rosario, Ryan Yarbrough and Pete Blackburn. They have picked up Cade Winquest through the Rule 5 draft and picked up Ali Sanchez and Zack Short on minor league deals.

MLB teams have time until January 2 to meet with Imai and try to sign him. If he remains unsigned by that time, his window will close, and he will return to the Lions for the 2026 season.

Yankees still waiting for decision from Cody Bellinger

The one name the New York Yankees are heavily linked to this offseason is Cody Bellinger. The former National League MVP is one of the top free agents this offseason and is gaining a lot of interest from several teams. The American League East side is still waiting for a decision from him.

Cody Bellinger with the Yankees
Cody Bellinger (Image via Fox News)

Bellinger joined the team last offseason through a trade from the Chicago Cubs. The 30-year-old had an impressive campaign from the plate, slugging 29 home runs and having 98 RBIs in 152 games while batting at a .272 average.

While the Bronx Bombers are very interested in re-signing him, they have not been able to make any major progress in this. Recent reports claimed that Scott Boras (Bellinger’s agent) was hoping for an 8-year, $400 million deal.

Insider Jack Curry claimed last week that no team has so far come close to matching that. At the moment, it seems unlikely that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers star would get such a massive deal.

As per Curry, the team sees Bellinger as a priority and has assigned him a value. Boras has done the same and ranks him higher than Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber.

Yankees see him as a priority, they assign a value to a player, so does Boras, and Boras values Bellinger more than Alonso and Schwarber, wait and see situation. They are not waiting on where Tucker is going to sign.

Jack Curry said on Yankees Hot Stove

Schwarber penned down a 5-year, $150 million deal and re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. Meanwhile, Alonso joined the Baltimore Orioles and made his way to the AL East division on a 5-year, $155 million.

If Boras values Bellinger more than these two players, he would likely be expecting an offer above $150 million at least. Only time will tell what type of deal the outfielder lands and where he will play in the 2026 season.

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