Insider provides new details on Mets pursuit of Astros’ Tatsuya Imai

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Insider provides new details on Mets pursuit of Astros’ Tatsuya Imai originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Houston Astros landing Tatsuya Imai caused questions around the league. Why weren’t the New York Yankees or New York Mets interested? Were they?

Despite a clear need for starting pitching from the Mets side, Imai wasn’t viewed as the type of pitcher worth signing, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

“The Mets still need starting pitching, but sources said the club wasn’t sold on Imai as an impact starter,” Feinsand wrote. “President of baseball operations David Stearns has shied away from signing pitchers for more than three years, which would have made Imai an ideal target had he felt strongly about his ability to make a successful move to the Majors. The top starters out there -- namely Valdez and Suárez -- are likely to command longer-term deals, so it remains to be seen whether Stearns will go all-in for one of them or look elsewhere, possibly the trade market.”

Imai seemed to be someone the Mets would want. His age, upside, and even contract length and amount should’ve made the front office have some level of interest.

However, as Stearns has shown, fit matters, and Imai perhaps didn’t fit that.

For the Astros, Framber Valdez would be someone who makes sense now, but Feinsand didn’t make it seem like it’s likely to happen. That puts the Mets in a weird spot. They entered the offseason with a clear need in the starting rotation and haven’t done enough to suggest it is any better than last season.