It’s been over two months since reports first surfaced about the likelihood of Imai’s availability this winter, and today’s news officially confirms the three-time NPB All-Star as one of the most intriguing branches of the 2025-2026 free agent class. Imai has a 3.15 ERA over 963 2/3 career innings with the Lions, with a 22.31% strikeout rate and an 11.52% walk rate. While his career walk rate is on the high side, Imai has lowered that number in each of his last four seasons, and he had a very solid 7.02% walk rate over 163 2/3 innings in 2025.
Imai is only 27 and won’t turn 28 until May. Between his age and an intriguing four-pitch arsenal (headlined by a fastball in the 95-99 mph range and a plus slider), there’s a lot to like in terms of how Imai’s success in the NPB could translate against Major League hits. This upside caused MLBTR to rank Imai seventh on our list of the offseason’s 50 best free agents, and we predict a six-year, $150 million deal even though some evaluators view Imai projects as a back-end starter or even a reliever in the majors.
Imai will be eligible for full free agency next season, so the Lions may feel like they can at least recoup some money in free agency by letting Imai go now instead of in 12 months. Under the terms of the MLB-NPB posting system, any major league team that reaches an agreement with Imai will owe the Lions a staggered fee depending on the size of the deal and any future earnings (i.e. options, bonuses, etc.) associated with that initial contract.
The Lions will get 20% of the first $25 million of the contract, 17.5% of the next $25 million of the contract and 15% of any money over $50 million. So if Imai were to sign a deal matching MLBTR’s projection of $150 million, his new team would owe the Lions a post fee of $24.375 million on top of Imai’s $150 million salary.
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