First of all, a big Happy New Year from Battery Power. Here’s to another year of Braves coverage.
The big news of the day was that the Braves were linked to Tatsuya Imai in multiple spots. I’ve been pushing Imai a little bit for the Braves in recent weeks because he makes a lot of sense. It wouldn’t cost the 26th overall pick to sign him, which is a huge advantage over the other top starters on the market like Framber Valdez. He has a lot of positives, as his final season in Japan merely mirrored Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s final three years in Japan. Perhaps most importantly, he’s only entering his age-28 season and is expected to sign a deal for no more than 5-6 years, with perhaps a shorter deal possible in what appears to be a weak market, meaning he doesn’t sign a deal that’s likely to see a huge age cliff. Of course, there’s additional risk in signing a player who hasn’t played in the MLB for big money yet and there may be less information the front office can use when vetting him, so it’s not without risk or downside. We’ll find out very soon where Imai signs, as his post window closes at 5pm on January 2, but I really hope it’s Atlanta.
Several sources indicated that the Braves are showing real interest in Japanese star pitcher Tatsuya Imai as his posting window is quickly approaching and closes Friday at 5 p.m.
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