Posted NPB pitcher snubs Dodgers in a way Padres fans are going to love

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the bane of every baseball fan's existence besides their own, and it appears that negative attitude is starting to spread to the players themselves.

Tatsuya Imai is one of the three premier Japanese free agents on the board this winter, alongside Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto. He may be the most likely San Diego Padres target given their robust need for starting pitching and Murakami's glaring red flags.

Even if he doesn't come to the Friars, though, he's surely gained the respect of all Padres fans with his definitive stance on not joining the Dodgers.

So long as he stays true to his word in free agency, Imai might just be the hero MLB needs.

Tatsuya Imai adamant about not joining Dodgers in MLB free agency

To say the Dodgers have had success wooing Japanese free agents to Los Angeles would be the understatement of the century.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki both played instrumental parts in the team's 2025 championship, and though he technically originally signed with the Los Angeles Angels, perpetual MVP Shohei Ohtani remains the single-most dominant force in the sport after receiving $700 million from the Dodgers.

And though he's not a native of Japan, Korean star Hyeseong Kim also figures to play a large role with the Dodgers moving forward after signing a very team-friendly deal with them last offseaosn.

They've simply had a monopoly on Asian superstars in recent years. And while that's a credit to their scouting efforts overseas, it's also made some of the most exciting free-agent pursuits in recent offseasons feel inevitable.

That's what makes Imai's declaration so refreshing. He doesn't just want to sign with someone besides the Dodgers — he wants to beat them. As the Dodgers' chief NL West rival, the Padres may be better positioned to offer him that opportunity than any other team in the sport.

Even at his projected price tag of about $150 million, he'd make a lot of sense as the next ace of the Padres. He's run an ERA below 3.00 in each of the past four seasons in the NPB, peaking in 2025 with a robust pitching line: 163 2/3 innings, 1.92 ERA, 2.01 FIP, 27.8% strikeout rate.

At just 27 years old, Imai could easily step into Dylan Cease and/or Michael King's vacated spot at the top of Craig Stammen's rotation. From Kodai Senga to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Japaense pitchers have had resounding success in covnerting their NPB success to Major League Baseball in recent years.

Unfortunately, the Padres don't fulfill his other requirement, as they roster two Japanese players on their team already (Yu Darvish and Yuki Matsui). Still, with their recent of run of contention and shared desire to beat the Dodgers, a partnership with Imai could prove to be bountiful for both parties.