Seibu Lions ace Tatsuya Imai wants to 'take down the Dodgers', Blue Jays may give him best chance
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In an interview with Daisuke Matsuzaka, Seibu Lions ace Tatsuya Imai revealed he'd rather take the Dodgers down than join his countrymen in Los Angeles.
When the news broke that Seibu Lions ace Tatsuya Imai was posted, many baseball fans just assumed he will join fellow Japanese pitchers Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki to help the Dodgers three-peat in 2026.
Speaking with Daisuke Matsuzaka on the show, "Hodo Station," Imai revealed otherwise.
"Of course, I'd enjoy playing alongside Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki," Imai told the former Major League pitcher and two-time World Baseball Classic champion, "but winning against a team like that and becoming a world champion would be the most valuable thing in my life. If anything, I'd rather take them down."
Imai Tatsuya would rather beat a team like the Dodgers than play with them
"If there were another Japanese player on the same team, I could just ask them about anything, right?" Imai said. "But that's actually not what I'm looking for. In a way, I want to experience that sense of survival. When I come face-to-face with cultural differences, I want to see how I can overcome them on my own, that's part of what I'm excited about.»
Enter the Blue Jays, who have long been interested in landing a Japanese star
This isn't just about Ohtani and that failed pursuit from the 2023-24 offseason, either, it's about a broader, organizational desire to establish the Blue Jays as a brand in Asia.
It's about baseball, yes, but it's also about business, trying to find their own slice of Japan's baseball culture, eyeballs and dollars included.
MLB Network's Jon Morosi suggests in an interview [Video below] it's down to three teams, and that Imai signing with the Blue Jays gives him the best chance to beat LA, or possibly signing with the Dodgers closest geographical rivals in the Giants or Padres.
"What Imai has given us here is the boldness to be different and to create a new rivalry."
The Blue Jays have major rotation questions beyond 2026, which is work they'll need to get ahead of.
The market offers Dylan Cease, Ranger Suárez, Framber Valdez, Michael King and others on top of trade candidates, but at 27, Imai is one of the few available pitchers entering his physical prime years.
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