Tatsuya Imai did a live interview on Japanese TV earlier today, and the Yankees were probably happy to hear some of the comments the right-handed pitcher made.

In this interview, he mentioned that not only would he prefer to join an MLB team without a Japanese player, but he also mentioned that he’d want to beat the Dodgers; not join them:

“I want to take them down…I think beating a team like that and becoming World Champions would be the most valuable thing in my life.”

During the 2025 season Imai was one of the top pitchers in Japan, sportijng a 1.92 ERA and striking out over 27% of batters faced, and he could get a serious payday this upcoming winter.

Unlike with Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki, who wanted nothing to do with the Yankees it seems, and even Yoshinobu Yamamoto who seemed

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