TOKYO — Tatsuya Imai is likely to be the next Japanese pitcher to move to a Major League team after his club, Seibu Lions, said Monday it would begin the process of making him available – a process called “posting.”
Imai, 27, had a record of 10-5 this season with an ERA of 1.92. The right-hander has a powerful fastball and has played his entire career in Japan.
The news of his posting comes on the heels of Japanese star third baseman Munetaka Murakami starting the posting process on Friday, according to sources. Murakami, 25, owns the single-season home run record for a Japanese player in Nippon Professional Baseball. He hit 56 homers in 2022, breaking Sadaharu Oh’s record 55 set in 1964.
Under the agreement with Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball, the posting period for a player runs from Nov. 1 until Dec. 15. Players have 45 days following the posting to reach an agreement with an MLB team.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
