While Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that Tatsuya Imai could sign during the Winter Meetings, the Yankees might have to longer than that to get a conclusion on his sweepstakes.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Imai and his representatives are expected to meet with teams and travel to cities after the Winter Meetings.
It would indicate that his sweepstakes will push into late-December rather than early-December, and while that doesn’t impact a team’s chances, it does create buzz about whether this will be a slow-moving or fast-moving market.
Both Passan and Rosenthal have excellent reporting track records, but it will be fascinating to see which credible reporter got a bad feed on information.
READ MORE: Do the Yankees have a history of underwhelming offseasons?
Tatsuya Imai’s Answer to the Yankees Could Take Some Time
Following a rather cryptic YES Hot Stove, the understanding of what the Yankees will do or won’t do this offseason has become more cloudy, but Tatsuya Imai is a player of interest for the team.
Multiple sources have told Empire Sports Media that the Yankees are interested in Imai and that the right-hander would be willing to play for the Bronx Bombers.
Whether that’s instead of or in tandem with a big outfield addition remains to be seen, but if its the former, there could be complications with the timing of Tatsuya Imai’s market.
Some reports have suggested that Cody Bellinger could be one of the first big names to go on the market due to the buzz around him, but others suggest he could wait for Kyle Tucker.
The likeliest scenario for an outfield splash is a reunion with Cody Bellinger, but the idea that there’s a set-in-place plan to make a massive and irresponsible pursuit without considering Kyle Tucker is a bit far-fetched.
New York has kept their outfield plans close to their chest, whether that’s due to fear of blowback at doing nothing could be true, but my understanding is that the team has grown displeased with how much information has leaked at times.
During the Juan Soto sweepstakes, Brian Cashman was reportedly unhappy with the slew of names involved in the trade being leaked days before it became official.
For those who were on Twitter while this trade was going down, you’d remember that it took multiple days for a trade with known names involved in the deal to finally go through.
I expect the Yankees to sign one of the two best outfielders, but my understanding of that situation is not as solidified as some of their previous endeavors which had essentially been forecasted to the public weeks in-advance.