Coveted Japanese ace pitcher wants to beat Dodgers, not join them

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ big bets on Japanese pitchers paid off earlier this month.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto earned World Series MVP honors, Roki Sasaki recorded critical outs and Shohei Ohtani started Game 7.

Tatsuya Imai is the latest Japanese ace and free agent who has his sights set on Major League Baseball. But the right-hander hopes his path to the majors doesn’t pass through Los Angeles.

Imai is in the middle of a 45-day assignment window, which gives him the opportunity to sign a contract with any major league team of his choosing.

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Tatsuya Imai of the Saitama Seibu Lions shoots against the Orix Buffaloes at Belluna Dome on April 25, 2025, in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan. (Sports Nippon/Getty Images)

“I’d rather eliminate them,” Imai told Japan’s Asahi Television’s “Hodo Station,” according to MLB.com, with a hint of laughter.

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“Of course I would love to play alongside [Shohei] Ohtani, [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto and [Roki] Sasaki,” Imai added, “but winning against a team like that and becoming world champion would be the most precious thing in my life.”

Imai recently pitched for the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball. The 27-year-old became available to MLB teams on November 19. He had his ups and downs during his first few seasons in NPB, but he eventually settled in and became one of the most reliable starting pitchers in the league.

Tatsuya Imai (48) of Samurai Japan reacts after throwing in the top of the seventh inning during a game against the Netherlands at Kyocera Dome Osaka on March 5, 2025, in Osaka, Japan. (Gene Wang/Getty Images)

Last season, Imai pitched a combined no-hitter and was named to his third career all-star team. He has a career ERA of 3.15 in 159 games with the Lions.

Imai also indicated that he hopes to sign with a team whose roster does not include any Japanese players.

Pitcher Tatsuya Imai of Japan throws the first inning during the Asian Professional Baseball Championship final between South Korea and Japan at Tokyo Dome on November 19, 2023, in Tokyo, Japan. (Gene Wang/Getty Images)

“They’d tell you anything if you asked, wouldn’t they?” Imai said in reference to the idea of ​​teaming up with another Japanese player in the United States: “I don’t really want that; in a way I want to experience that survival vibe, and facing cultural differences and understanding them for myself is part of the fun.”

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The Dodgers have effectively cornered the market on top international players in recent years, but Imai’s latest comments cast a chill on the idea of ​​Los Angeles adding a fourth Japanese native pitcher to its rotation in 2026.

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