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Bro, he's a pitcher. Don't overthink it.

One year opt-out? Another trick in Boras' bag. No reason to invest team resources in a guy that is going to book after one season. Fans would not even invest in a jersey with his name on it.

Agreed. The numbers can especially be misleading for pitchers because we don’t know what they are being asked to work on.

Kona is fringey, definitely at least a tick below Imai. The sad thing is he peaked two seasons ago and looked ready to get at least what Imai did, but Seibu wouldn’t let him go.

I mean if you put it that way, every players floor is “dies in plane accident tomorrow”

What a stupid idea

Yes. He could beat the current signing record by seven figures and still be well under slot.

That sounds like a restaurant in Hawaii that serves great Japanese Polynesian fusion.

Kona Takahashi has the same deadline as Imai, so there should be news on that front soon too.

I think theres something to this. People discount or fail to pay attention to the psychological aspect of these kids at this point in their career. If they feel they stall, where they should be continuing to advance, it 100 percent has a role in their development. I think this was certainly the case with Colson. Everyone is so obsessed with numbers and peripherals that the head is ignored. I think with the talent of these two specifically they could just come up and take right off.

I know that, I'm just wondering if it can be expected that he will sign for under slot.

That sucks.

I mean his floor is he blows his arm out in ST and gets paid 63 million to pitch 100 innings for them. It's a pretty big gamble, a team like the Astros that has maybe one or two years left in their window sure, but the Sox? Eh, doesn't make much sense imo. Not with the opt outs taking any trade or surplus value upside away.

Super cool!

I actually wouldn’t be surprised if they were in on him once he was looking for a shorter term, but bowed out once opt-outs came into play.

Good question, but I think the sides would have negotiated the bonus prior to draft day.

Now that he signed maybe this will open up the SP market

But you’d also get a draft pick if you offer the QO so not a total waste if he left after a year.

You think Kona Takahashi is a possibility for the Sox?

Imai has a much higher floor than Murakami. Would have been very surprising if he fell to the Sox the same way.

Waiting for the teams in their division to get weaker.

Now with 11% more catches!

Nah. Let them both work it out in the minors and hopefully stay healthy. So much hinges on them approaching their ceilings.

Hagen Smith needs to learn how to not walk the world, but moving him to the bullpen this early would be a failure.

New Catch-All thread. BA has piece on New Year's Resolutions for each org's farm system. https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2026-new-years-resolutions-for-all-30-mlb-farm-systems/