About the Off-Season: Oh My, Oh My, The Yankees Lost Out On Imai

About the Off-Season: Oh My, Oh My, The Yankees Lost Out On Imai

By Tim Kabel

January 2, 2026

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Well, Tatsuya Imai was true to his word. He did not go to the Dodgers. He said he would rather beat the Dodgers than play for them. So, naturally, he signed with the Yankees, correct? No, he did not. He said he wanted to beat the Dodgers, not lose to them. At this point, the Astros seem more capable of and committed to beating the Dodgers than the Yankees are. But then again, what team isn't? Even the White Sox have done more than the Yankees this off-season. 

I was a strong advocate for the Yankees to sign Imai. At this point, their starting rotation to begin the season will be Max Fried, Luis Gil, Will Warren, Cam Schlittler, and who knows? It could be Ryan Yarbrough. It could be Paul Blackburn. It could be one of the young prospects such as Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, or Carlos Lagrange. According to what we have been told, it won’t be Gerrit Cole, and it won't be Carlos Rodon. They are expected to rejoin the rotation at some point, but exactly when is unclear.

What is also unclear is how effective either Cole or Rodon will be when they resume pitching. Rodon would seem to be less of a question mark than Cole because his injury and the accompanying surgery were less severe than those that Cole had. However, one never knows. Cole missed the entire 2025 season. We can assume that he will come back at close to the same level he was before his injury and surgery, but we know what happens when we assume, don't we?

The thought was that signing Imai would be a strong move for the Yankees. Conceivably, he could have been a member of the rotation from the beginning of the season which would have provided Rodon and Cole more time and flexibility in their recoveries. It would have removed some of the urgency around the returns of Cole and Rodon. If either or both of them returned early in the season and perhaps earlier than expected, that would have been even better. Signing Imai would have allowed the Yankees to operate from a position of strength. If they wanted to move one of the starters such as Luis Gil to the bullpen, it would have been easier to do so with Imai in the rotation. If they wanted to trade someone such as Luis Gil or Will Warren, that would have been easier too. But alas, the Yankees decided not to sign Tatsuya Imai.

Even worse than the fact that the Yankees did not sign Imai is the fact that he went to the Astros. Although the Astros did not make the playoffs last year, it was close. They always seem to be in the hunt or in the playoffs at the end of the year no matter how awful they look at the beginning of the season. They are also a perennial nemesis of the Yankees. They just improved. The Yankees have not improved.

The failure of the Yankees to sign Imai or the refusal of the Yankees to sign him would be easier to swallow if one truly believed that Rodon and Cole were very likely to rejoin the rotation and to pitch at their full efficacy early in the season. That's a gamble. It's an uncertainty. Apparently, it was a gamble the Yankees were willing to take.

It would be even easier to accept the Yankees passing on Imai if they did something else instead. Let me rephrase that. If they did anything else instead, it would be easier to accept the Yankees passing on Imai. Signing Amed Rosario is not the move I was thinking about. If for example the Yankees felt comfortable with Ryan Yarbrough and or Paul Blackburn holding down the fort for a few weeks until Carlos Rodon or and or Gerrit Cole returned, as opposed to signing a pitcher from Japan for $63 million for 3 years, because they wanted to sign Kazuma Okamoto or Bo Bichette, that would make sense. But the Yankees haven't done those things. They have done nothing. 

I would truly love to see the Yankees sign Kazuma Okamoto in the next couple of days. It would fit with Brian Cashman’s statement that the Yankees need to be more right-handed. Okamato is a far superior hitter than Ryan McMahon. I know he hasn't played in the Major Leagues but, he is a far superior hitter than Ryan McMahon. That would allow the Yankees to trade McMahon and possibly bring a valuable player back. Maybe McMahon could be part of a package.

At this point, as much as I would like that to happen, I have no reason to believe that the Yankees will do so. Based on what they have not done so far during the off-season I have many reasons to believe that they won't sign Okamoto or frankly, anyone else.

2026 is starting off in a very dissatisfying way. For Yankees, this is truly the winter of our discontent. Hey, that would be a great title for a book.

I was hungry for the Yankees to make some moves but now I am not. I am losing my “Boone Appetit”.