After the Mets lost out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Dodgers on Thursday, the team is left looking for alternatives.
On Friday, a scout indicated that the team should turn their attention to another Japanese ace, Shōta Imanaga, via MLB insider John Harper.
“Very deceptive, low 90s [fastball] plays up due to low arm angle,” the scout said, via Harper on X (formerly Twitter). “Should age well because of excellent command of breaking stuff, great feel for changing speeds, high whiff rate. Cost prob similar to Senga.”
The 30-year-old pitcher, who won gold at the 2023 WBC, had a terrific season for Yokohama. He posted a 7-4 record with a 2.80 ERA, 1.054 WHIP and 174 strikeouts in 148 innings — that’s more strikeouts in fewer innings than Yamamoto had for the Orix Buffaloes. Imanaga also posted a career-best 7.90 strikeouts-to-walks ratio in 139 innings pitched.
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In eight seasons in Japan, Imanaga has a lifetime 74-54 record with a 2.96 ERA. He averages 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a minuscule 0.9 home runs per nine.
Another potential Japanese pitcher of interest might be right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa, who posted a 2.96 ERA in 170 innings for the Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2023. He turns 30 in January.
On Friday morning, Mets owner Steve Cohen commented on losing Yamamoto to Los Angeles.
“I think the whole organization tried our hardest, and someone was going to win and someone was going to lose and that is the way it goes,” Cohen said to Mike Puma of the New York Post. “I feel good about our efforts and I left it all on the field. Life goes on.”
Manuel Gomez may be reached at [email protected].
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