GM Ross Atkins on Japanese free agents: 'Some exiting players that could compliment Blue Jays well'

This season, there are a handful of interesting players coming from Japan's NPB with a chance to impact the narrative of the MLB offseason.

Players over 25 enter the market via the posting system. Once they are officially posted by their NPB clubs, they are free to negotiate with MLB teams for 45 days.

There are no restrictions on how much they can earn. Japanese clubs in turn get a «posting fee» based on the guaranteed value of the MLB contract a player signs.

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins was asked about players coming over from Japan this winter:

Tatsuya Imai is the biggest NPB pitcher who will enter the market on November 19th according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Blue Jays doing diligence on Tatsuya Imai. Ross Atkins:

Imai might be the most intriguing available starter. He is a right-handed pitcher who, with a plus arsenal at 27 years old, could command a large payday.

Imai offers a plus fastball that can sit 95-99 mph. He is also a divisive player among at least some scouts because of his secondary offerings.

Some scouts say his slider is his most potent weapon while others are less certain. He also throws a cutter that can sometimes blend with the slider.

Scouts are also torn on his splitter. Some refer to the splitter as a plus-pitch, but the offering, in the minds of at least one American League evaluator, is inconsistent.

Imai won't have as much earning power as Yamamoto, who secured $325MM over 12 years.

Yamamoto was even younger, having just turned 25 when he was posted, and also had the superior track record of performance.

Still, Imai should find lots of interest.

Set to enter his age-29 season, there is less buzz around Takahashi than there was when he dominated the NPB to the tune of 2.20 and 2.21 ERAs in 2022-23.

Takahashi, pitched to a solid 3.04 ERA in 24 starts for the Lions this past season. He struck out only 14.3% of his opponents in 148 innings of work, however, and his 2024 season was limited to just 15 starts at the highest level of NPB play when he posted a 3.87 ERA in 81 1/3 innings of work last year and saw his velocity dip below his previous career norms.

His velocity has been inconsistent and there are fears his fastball is too hittable. He's still capable of pitching in the major leagues, but his low strikeout rates suggest some risk.

That reality casts Takahashi as more of a back-end starter or swing man at the big league level, and while it's possible there's an organization that thinks they can help him take a step forward it seems likely he'll be relegated to a relatively small multi-year deal or perhaps even a non-guaranteed deal.

The former Toronto Blue Jay is a candidate to return to North America after bolstering his arsenal posting a 1.62 ERA with the Yomiuri Giants in 2025.

LHP Anthony Kay | Yokohama DeNA BayStars

Another former Blue Jay player returning to MLB, the former first-round pick is drawing interest after two dominant seasons in Japan.