Could Angels reported connection to Tatsuya Imai land the ace in Anaheim?

The Angels have created a lot of payroll this flexibility this offseason, leading to expectations among the fan base (and insiders as well) that the team is going to be in the mix for some of the biggest free agents this offseason. Buying out Anthony Rendon is a move that gives the team upwards of $60 million if they match recent Opening Day payrolls, and the team may be looking internationally for reinforcements. The team was one of the MLB organizations to send a scout to look at third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, and apparently have a connection to the biggest fish in the international pond this offseason.

In his reporting for The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal detailed the status of Tatsuya Imai's free agency. The ace pitcher out of Japan is predicted to land a contract somewhere in the $150 million range over the course of six years. The club lucky enough to sign Imai would have to pay a posting fee of $24.375 million as well. And that may just wind up being the Angels.

Could Angels' connection to Tatsuya Imai land the ace in Anaheim?

Earlier on in his free agency, Tatsuya Imai spoke about how he would like to join a team that does not have a Japanese player, saying he would rather figure out MLB on his own. This went hand in hand with him saying he would rather beat the Dodgers than join them, and seemed to shut down any potential rotation of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Imai. And while those comments were likely blown out of proportion, it gave every other team an opening to get their pitches in to Imai.

In the article, Rosenthal noted that Imai has a connection to one of the Angels' own starters, Yusei Kikuchi. Rosenthal writes, "As a young pitcher with the Saitama Seibu Lions, Imai studied and learned from teammate Yusei Kikuchi, who embarked on a long major-league career that is still ongoing with the Los Angeles Angels."

Now, that is not to say the Angels are frontrunners or that Kikuchi is recruiting Imai to Anaheim. Nevertheless, Kikuchi having a relationship like that with Imai during his younger days in Japan is surely a positive note next to the Angels' name. And with their newfound payroll, finding a way to get Tatsuya Imai starting on Opening Day would be the first step to a perfect offseason for the Angels.