Here's why Blue Jays are set up perfectly to make a run at Tatsuya Imai next year

The Toronto Blue Jays managed to land one of the big three Japanese players who were posted this offseason. Bringing in Kazuma Okamoto gives them the type of player they have long coveted, an impact guy from the pacific rim who was a star player in Nippon Professional Baseball. After missing out on Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki in recent years, signing the 29-year-old Okamoto feels like a big win for the front office.

They also have a chance to double down on that group as early as next season as Tatsuya Imai came to an agreement with the Houston Astros, but he may not be sticking around in the Lone Star State for long.

Here's why Blue Jays are set up perfectly to make a run at Tatsuya Imai next year

Imai's contract with the Astros came in at three-years, $54 million but it includes opt-outs after each of the first two seasons. While some experts predicted he would get a long-term deal worth over $150 million or more, the right hander has decided to bet on himself. He took a shorter term deal with a chance to show MLB teams that he's got what it takes to compete in North America, and could re-enter the free agent market next season.

That lines up perfectly with what the Blue Jays' biggest needs may be after the 2026 season. Toronto potentially has three starters hitting the market themselves. Kevin Gausman and Shane Bieber do not have contracts after this year, while José Berrios can also opt-out of his deal. That would leave a sizeable hole in the rotation going into 2027.

Sure, Toronto has plenty of internal depth options at the moment that could force their way onto the roster by that time. However, this offseason has shown that the Blue Jays front office understands the importance of bringing in high upside pitching in order to compete with the top teams in the game. Imai will also be 28-years-old at the beginning of next season and the youngest of that trio for the Blue Jays is Bieber, who is four years older than Imai.

During his professional career in Japan, Imai has pitched to a 3.15 ERA in 963.2 career innings and developed into one of the best strikeout artists in the NPB. In 2023 he had a 24.4% strikeout rate and that increased to 27.8% this past season. He also has a fastball that can reach 99 mph and he also throws a slider, splitter and a changeup.

If Imai can show he is MLB level material in 2026 with the Astros, it's not unreasonable to think the Scott Boras client will hit the market again before the 2027 campaign. If he does, the Blue Jays could be one of the teams who have a spot open for him and are willing to meet his asking price.