{"id":88258,"date":"2025-09-04T22:39:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T22:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=88258"},"modified":"2025-09-04T22:39:40","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T22:39:40","slug":"red-sox-tabbed-to-sign-150-million-ace-starter-youve-never-heard-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=88258","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox Tabbed to Sign $150 Million Ace Starter You’ve Never Heard Of"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/main>or most of the season, the Boston Red Sox\u00a0have been remarkably solid\u00a0through the top three spots in their starting rotation. Ace lefty Garret Crochet, comebacking veteran Lucas Giolito and rising homegrown sinkerballer Brayan Bello have a collective 3.28 ERA \u2014\u00a0which would lead all MLB rotations\u00a0if the whole Red Sox starting staff were only those three.<\/p>\n

Combined, Boston’s top three starters have given the team 450 1\/3 innings in 74 starts among them 6.09 innings per start, close to a full inning above the\u00a0MLB\u00a0average\u00a0of 5.21 innings pitched\u00a0per game by starters.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Crochet, Giolito or Bello cannot start every game.<\/p>\n

For the fifth spot, Boston has shuffled through 2024 All-Star Tanner Houck, rookie Hunter Dobbins,\u00a0rookie Richard Fitts, journeyman southpaw Sean Newcomb, and most recently, trade\u00a0deadline acquisition Dustin May, a former Los Angeles Dodgers hurler.<\/p>\n

But the Red Sox have yet to solidify their final rotation spot. For most of the season the Red Sox filled the fourth slot with Walker Buehler, but\u00a0they released the former\u00a0Dodgers veteran last Friday after a disappointing campaign.<\/p>\n

They appear to be placing they faith in top pitching prospect Payton Tolle to fill the fourth spot.<\/p>\n

More MLB:\u00a0Red Sox Announce Impactful Decision to Shake Up Starting Rotation<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

That still leaves one gaping hole \u2014 a hole that with just 21 games remaining in the season they may not be able to fill.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday night against the Cleveland Guardians, manager Alex Cora tried to plug the gap with a “bullpen game,” but the plan blew up in his face when the first three pitchers used, Brennan Bernardino, Jordan Hicks and Steven Matz,\u00a0combined to cough up six runs\u00a0in the first two innings, setting up the Red Sox for an eventual 8-1 loss.<\/p>\n

To avoid the same problem in next year, the Red Sox could pursue the best pitcher that most\u00a0MLB\u00a0fans have never heard of \u2014 one who is expected to become available on the free agent market this coming offseason.<\/p>\n

That would be Saitama Seibu Lions ace\u00a0Tatsuya Imai, who is expected to be posted by his Japanese Pacific League club after the season<\/span><\/p>\n

According\u00a0to ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, the\u00a027-year-old Imai, who has started 155 games in his eight-year NPB career, “is the hardest-throwing starter in Japan, with a fastball that sits at 95 mph and tops out at 99. With a vicious slider, a changeup, a splitter, a curveball and a sinker he picked up this season, Imai has the sort of pitch mix that teams covet.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Imai’s career ERA in Japan is\u00a0a respectable if not sensational\u00a03.49, the 5-foot-11, 154-pound righty is having a breakout season.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 143 2\/3 innings over 20 starts, Imai boasts a sparkling 1.50 ERA and 0.849 WHIP. The Lions ace has struck out 159 against just 37 walks, surrendering a mere four home runs in 552 batters faced this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

On June 17, Imai\u00a0struck out 17 batters\u00a0in a game against the Yokohama DeNa Baystars, breaking the Lions’ franchise record of 16 set by Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2004.<\/span><\/p>\n

Matsuzaka went on to\u00a0pitch six seasons for the Red Sox\u00a0(and another two for the New York Mets), helping lead Boston to its 2007 World Series championship, then recording an 18-3 record and 2.90 ERA in 2008, his best season in the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Tuesday,\u00a0Imai struck out 10\u00a0in a complete-game, two-hit shutout victory over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Passan, “upward of 20 major league scouts” were in attendance at the Tuesday game, so the Red Sox would appear to have substantial competition in bidding for Imai’s services next year.<\/span><\/p>\n

But as Japanese signings go, Imai should not be in the upper tier — financially anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n

Passan, citing MLB sources, predicts that the price to acquire Imai will land in the $150 million to $200 million range. Given his relatively youthful age and lack of long-term wear and tear on his arm, that price could be spread over a deal of seven-to-10 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2024, the Dodgers signed former Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was 25 years old, to\u00a0a 12-year, $325 million\u00a0contract.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Boston Red Sox have had problem filling out their five-man starting rotation all season. 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