Jack Curry likely just dealt a death blow to Yankees-Tatsuya Imai rumors

Apologies to everyone who's spent the winter trying to read between lines with no space between them, or choosing to believe fraudulent Twitter accounts over the word of the people who are in the building. After an offseason's worth of impressively desperate fan-driven spin zones, Jack Curry spoke so frankly about the Yankees' pursuit of Japanese starter Tatsuya Imai on Tuesday night's YES Hot Stove that his words could not possibly be misinterpreted.

Varied reports - both overseas and from American soil - have characterized the Yankees and Cubs as key players in Imai's market, potentially even finalists, in recent weeks. Amid temptation, Curry has never wavered, always standing by his reporting that the Yankees would prefer to add a starter via trade, and are unlikely to spend another $20+ million annually on a starting pitcher in a rotation that already includes Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Max Fried at that price.

You can disagree with the logic of the choice all you'd like. That doesn't make Curry's reporting inaccurate.

On Tuesday, with Imai's market still as unclear as it's ever been (breeding imagined Yankees connections with every silent day, Curry took a hammer to the lingering hope. The connection between the Yankees and Imai, according to Curry, "does not exist".

Yankees Rumors: Tatsuya Imai pursuit has no connection

But...but MLB Marathon said otherwise! Yes. Yes, they did. That's, uh, not a real guy.

Last time, Curry ended his Imai intel with a cryptic, "Stay tuned" that had fans parsing his tone under great duress. This time? He was even more blunt. No connection. Not happening. While it only takes "one text" to change the Yankees' direction, they're certainly running out of time to establish a line of communication with Imai; he has to come to a conclusion on his next team, per MLB rules, by Jan. 2.

Imai is represented by Scott Boras, who also handles Cody Bellinger, their purported Plan A this offseason. Clearly, they're finished with Boras playing games, sending out Curry to dissolve the rope he'd tried to build between the Yankees and one of his other high-profile clients.

Curry even went so far as to say that the team believes Ryan Yarbrough could confidently craft a bridge to Rodón's rumored return on May 1. That's how you really know they're sick of the gossip.

All offseason, those in the room have told Yankee fans not to expect much. As depressing a reality as that may be, there's no reason to believe any sort of internal pivot has occurred. Merry Christmas.