It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest gathering of night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. It’s always good to see a friend.
Your name is on the guest list. We can take your coat if you’d like. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last evening I asked you if the Cubs should tender a contract to catcher Reese McGuire. The vote was very close but by a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent, you thought the Cubs should pay what it takes to keep McGuire around.
Here’s the part with the music and the movies. You’re free to skip that. You won’t hurt my feelings.
I’m still not ready to hit you with the Christmas jazz yet, and other than the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving soundtrack, I don’t know of any Thanksgiving jazz. But I do have a soulful non-holiday of the jazz standard “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” by pianist Shai Maestro and saxophonist Chris Potter.
This performance was in France in 2020.
You still have time to vote in the silent screen matchup in the BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic between A Trip to the Moon and Metropolis. Up next is the number-seed in the “Classic” bracket, The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951). Facing it is the H.G. Wells’ adaptation The Time Machine (1960).
The Day the Earth Stood Still can be seen on Hoopla with a library membership and I found a copy here. The Time Machine can be rented and there’s a copy here to watch.
I also just wanted to take a second to note the passing of Japanese star Tatsuya Nakadai, (gift article) who is best-known in the US for the many parts he played in the films of director Akira Kurosawa. He starred in Kagemusha (1980) and Ran (1985), Kurosawa’s retelling of King Lear. He also had several supporting parts to Toshiro Mifune in films such as Yojimbo, Sanjuro and High and Low. I just wrote about High and Low in September.
Of course, Nakadai had other parts with other directors that were very well-regarded in Japan, but those non-Kurosawa films didn’t translate as well to foreign markets.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
Cubs team president Jed Hoyer has made no secret that the Cubs intend to improve their pitching depth. That includes starting as well as bullpen arms. The issue would be helped if Shōta Imanaga were to accept his qualifying offer, but even if he does, the Cubs are still going to have to add starting pitcher.
One pitcher we haven’t discussed yet is Seibu Lions right-hander Tatsuya Imai, who was posted by the NPB team on Monday. Imai is 27 and went 10-5 with a sparkling 1.92 ERA in NPB last year. He has struggled with control early in his career, but he’s made big strides on that front, issuing just 45 free passes in 163 2/3 innings in 2025. (That’s 2.5 per nine for those who don’t want to do the math.) He also struck out 178 batters last year.
Imai has a four-pitch arsenal, with what Fangraphs describes as a “weird pitch mix – splitter/changeup combos don’t grow on trees – but he might have four plus offerings.” Imai is not just a soft tosser, his fastball ranges from 93 to 97 miles per hour, although Keith Law calls it “flat.” (The Athletic sub. req.) But Law is also intrigued by what Ima calls his slider, which he thinks breaks more like a screwball.
Some scouts also think that Imai’s three-quarters pitching motion could be cleaned up a bit and that there is the possibility that his stuff could improve when he comes over to MLB.
One other positive is that Imai doesn’t come with a qualifying offer, although the Cubs would have to pay Seibu a posting fee that’s a percentage of whatever contract Imai signs.
You know there are “buts” coming here. For one, Imai is a short for a right-hander (5’11”) and not real heavy. While he’s had no problem handling a full starter’s workload in the US, there is some concern that he might not hold up to the rigors of starting in the majors.
There is also the concern that offense in NPB is very much down recently and those sparkling numbers might not translate over to MLB. Yes, Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominated in the World Series, but no one thinks Imai is as good as Yamamoto. The more optimistic projections compare him to Kodai Senga, who has been good but has also had troubles staying healthy. His career numbers in Japan are surprisingly similar to Imanaga’s, although they get to that destination through two very different approaches. Imanaga was also much older than Imai when he came over.
Jeff Passan, for his part, called Imai the “perfect” signing for the Cubs.
So would you like to see the Cubs sign Tatsuya Imai? The contract estimates for him are frankly, all over the board. I fully Senga’s five-year, $75 million deal to serve as a comparison for Imai. Tim Britton of The Athletic predicts that Imai will get something close to eight years and $190 million. (sub. req.) I think that number is wildly high, preferring Ben Clemens’ of Fangraphs’ estimate of five years and $100 million. Jeff Passan spoke to executives and he got a wild range of numbers between $80 million and $200 million, but he seems to think Imai will land in the $140 million range.
To be clear, the Cubs could use two elite starting pitchers in the free agent market. But I wouldn’t count on the team splurging for Imai AND someone like Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez or Ranger Suarez. If the Cubs signed Imai, they would probably be out on the other “top tier” starters.
So do you tink the Cubs should sign Tatsuya Imai?
I put the question that way because if I asked “Should the Cubs sign talented players?,” the answer will always be “yes.”
Thank you for stopping by. You always brighten our day with your presence. Please get home safely. Stay warm. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.
