Tatsuya Imai: The Mets didn’t believe he would have an impact in MLB

The New York Mets' offseason continues to raise questions in the Big Apple as they look to address their main shortcoming of adding pieces to the starting rotation puzzle.

That's why Japan's Tatsuya Imai would have been a perfect fit, given their needs on the mound and the short term of his contract with the Houston Astros.

But that wasn't the opinion of Mets management. In fact, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the Metropolitans ultimately opted not to embrace Imai in the derby due to internal concerns about his projected impact at the Major League Baseball level.

Mets weren't sold on Tatsuya Imai as impact starter: report https://t.co/rb9OowYp6J pic.twitter.com/tU7fOYUFoz

– SNY (@SNYtv) January 3, 2026

The Mets still need starting pitchers, but sources said the club wasn't sold on Imai as an impact starter. The top starters, namely Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez, are expected to get longer-term contracts, so it remains to be seen whether David Stearns will go all in for one of them or look elsewhere, possibly the trade market.

If this is the kind of standard the Mets want, it looks promising for the rest of the winter. But we all know that's not how things work in the wonderful unicorn world of New York training.

Imai carried minimal risk with exit options after each of his first two seasons of the pact. By passing on the Nippon, the Mets now face an ever-shrinking market and growing grumbling in Queens.

It looks like the Mets don't see 2026 as a campaign where they can finally move on to the next level, because if they did, the lame excuses would stop flying everywhere.

This content was created with the help of AI.