Tatsuya Imai: White Sox reportedly in the thick of the race

Félix Forget
Tatsuya Imai: White Sox reportedly in the thick of the race
Credit: Newsweek

Earlier this winter, the Chicago White Sox acquired Munetaka Murakami. The Japanese slugger, whose arrival in MLB had been anticipated for years, had become a polarizing player who failed to generate a ton of buzz.

So he was forced to sign a short-term contract… and to everyone's surprise, he did so with the White Sox.

And apparently, the White Sox have started to take a liking to big free agents: according to reports out of Japan, they have a new one in their sights: Tatsuya Imai.

In fact, the White Sox are in the thick of the race, along with the Yankees and Phillies.

And Murakami's signing, unsurprisingly, would have a role to play in all this.

Note that the White Sox, who see Imai as a top-notch pitcher, are trying to find a way to agree with Imai on the terms of a short-term contract. It worked with Murakami, and Imai doesn't have a huge market either.

For the White Sox, signing Imai would complete a dream off-season for the club. Considering that spending isn't in the house, signing two big names would be a real home run for a team that's been taking a nose dive for years.

And it's clearly inspiring other teams too: according to Jon Heyman, Kazuma Okamoto is a real option for the… Pittsburgh Pirates.

They too want to spend this winter, not least to keep Paul Skenes happy.

After years of big markets parting with big free agents, it's good news to see that smaller clubs want a piece of the action too.

It'll have to come to fruition, of course… but just seeing them in the running is a small victory in itself.

This content was created with the help of AI.

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