Yankees Expected To Enter Tatsuya Imai Sweepstakes: Report

By Patrick McAvoy

Contributing Sports Writer

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The New York Yankees' starting rotation is already dealing with injuries that could impact the beginning of the 2026 season.

Gerrit Cole missed the entire 2025 season. He recently threw a bullpen at Yankee Stadium at the beginning of November, but the current expectation is that he will not be ready for opening day. MLB.com's Bryan Hoch said there is a "possibility" of Cole returning in May.

"Cole underwent a complete UCL reconstruction that included an internal brace and was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles," Hoch wrote on Nov. 1. "A 14-month recovery was forecast at the time of the procedure. That remains in play, raising the possibility of Cole returning to a major league mound sometime in May."

Beyond Cole, Clarke Schmidt and Carlos Rodón aren't expected to be ready for opening day.

With all of that being said, the Yankees could use another hurler to help them get through. The Athletic's Brendan Kuty reported that the Yankees will "earnestly pursue" Japanese starter Tatsuya Imai as one option.

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"The Yankees are expected to earnestly pursue Imai as they continue to survey the entire pitching market for an arm, according to a league source," Kuty wrote. "The 27-year-old would represent an upgrade to just about any rotation, but particularly to the Yankees’ group, which has so many questions heading into spring training. But don’t be surprised if they end up going cheaper if the price ratchets up for the right-hander.

"Right now, it’s too early to say how aggressive the Yankees will be with particular pitchers. They would be doing themselves a disservice by not monitoring everything — and that’s what they do every offseason."

Imai is just 27 years old, but he has been a professional since 2017 as a member of the Saitama Seibu Lions in Nippon Professional Baseball. The righty pitched in 187 games and logged a 3.07 career ERA in 1,077 2/3 innings of work.

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