The Tigers are among the many MLB teams who have scouted Teruaki Sato and Kaima Taira, Evan Petzold reports in a YouTube video exploring several potential targets for the Tigers this winter. Petzold notes Shota Imanaga as a possible rotation addition, with the added detail that Imanaga drew interest from Detroit when the left-hander made his own jump from Japan to the majors during the 2023-24 offseason.
Framber Valdez’s three-year, $115MM contract (which has an opt-out after the 2027 season) is far and away the largest free agent deal the Tigers have completed under president of baseball operations Scott Harris. Detroit’s two-year, $35MM deal with Jack Flaherty from the 2024-25 offseason is second on that list, and while the Tigers have explored larger splurges on such players as Alex Bregman, Harris has been pretty steadfast in his approach of limiting the club’s forays into the open market.
MLB Trade Rumors projects Sato for a five-year, $80MM deal this winter, Taira for a four-year, $72MM deal (with at least one opt-out), and Imanaga for two years and $40MM. Estimates for players coming from NPB to MLB are sometimes particularly difficult to predict, but if these projections hold, Imanaga might be the cleanest financial fit for a Detroit club that is wary of free agent spending. If Imanaga is still on the Tigers’ radar as a potential add as he enters his age-33 season, the Tigers have more data on what to expect based on the southpaw’s three years in the Show.
Imanaga’s spectacular rookie year remains the best of his three MLB seasons, though his 2026 campaign saw him come close to replicating his 2024 numbers in terms of strikeout rate. Imanaga posted a 3.77 ERA, above-average 24.6% strikeout rate, and an elite 5.2% walk rate over 174 1/3 innings for the Cubs last year, but his inability to keep the ball in the yard (35 homers allowed) remains his greatest flaw.
Perhaps the simplest answer to this problem is to change yards, as Petzold points out that Fifth Third Park is much more pitcher-friendly than Wrigley Field. Signing Imanaga would bring some experience to a projected rotation that is pretty short on veteran know-how, apart from Valdez.
Taira obviously lacks any MLB track record, and he doesn’t have much of a resume as a starting pitcher, as 2023 and 2026 were his only seasons as a full-time starter with the Seibu Lions. Still, he was excellent in those two seasons, and is coming to the majors at 27 years old. Some evaluators have questioned if Taira’s 5’8″ frame will hold up as a starting pitcher over the long term, but Petzold observes that this might not be as big a problem for a Tigers team that could also use a lot of bullpen help.
The questions about Sato’s defensive future might also not be much of an issue in Detroit. He could be installed at third base (with Colt Keith then shifted over to first or second base), or right field might be the cleaner fit since the Tigers’ current plan is a platoon of Kerry Carpenter and Ben Malgeri. Speaking of platoons, the fact that Sato is a left-handed hitter might make him less of a match in a Tigers lineup that is already tilted to the left side.
There’s also the aforementioned factor of Fifth Third Park as something of a natural deterrent for home runs, but on paper, Sato brings plenty of power. He has 79 homers over the last two NPB seasons, and Sato won the league’s Triple Crown this year with his 39 homers, 106 RBI, and .306 average (plus a .383 OBP and .609 slugging percentage over 614 PA).
Detroit and any other clubs looking at Sato, Taira, or Hiromi Itoh are operating on a ticking clock. The impending lockout on December 1 will freeze all transactions around the league but it won’t interrupt the 45-day signing window for Nippon Professional Baseball players posted to MLB. This means that if any of Sato, Taira, or Itoh aren’t signed by the time the lockout begins, they won’t find a big league deal at all, and will then return to their Japanese teams for the 2027 season.
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