The clock had barely struck midnight on 2026 and the Astros were already making moves. On Thursday, it was widely reported that Houston had signed highly touted Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai to a three-year, incentive-laden deal. The 27-year-old has a chance to make as much as $63 million over the life of the deal, but has opt outs after each season.
The signing came practically out of nowhere for fans and reporters as no one had put Imai’s name and the Astros together this offseason when he made himself available to Major League Baseball. With comparisons to Seattle’s Luis Castillo, Dodgers phenom Yoshinobo Yamamoto, and Bluejays hurler Trey Yesavage, it’s no wonder he was sought after. But the fact that he didn’t get a long deal was evidence teams weren’t 100 percent convinced he is a sure thing.
The Astros get him for three years with player options after each season, essentially Imai betting on himself and the Astros getting a reasonable option to fill one of the gaping holes in their rotation. If Imai can come even close to his 1.92 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning he had last season in Japan, it will make he and Hunter Brown one of the more formidable young pitching tandems in baseball.
Imai averages 95 mph on his fastball touching 99 with a slight three-quarters delivery. He has an arsenal of pitches including a wicked slider and a variety of changeups mostly thrown to lefties.
Astros fans should warm up to him quickly after Imai was quoted on a podcast recently saying he didn’t really want to play for the Dodgers, the team widely considered the frontrunner to acquire him. “I want to beat them… beating a team like that and becoming world champions would be the most valuable thing in my life.”
GM Dana Brown has made good on his promise to focus on starting pitching this offseason with first a trade for Mike Burrows and now the signing of Imai. The team still has some money remaining and assets remaining to seek out a backup catcher and perhaps another lefty bat. Because their 40-man roster is currently full, a move will have to be made to accommodate the signing of Imai.
With Brown, Imai, Burrows, Cristian Javier, Spencer Arrighetti, the team has a solid first four and a variety of other arms to choose from to round out the rotation including Lance McCullers, Jr. in the final year of his deal, J.P. France, A.J. Blubaugh, and Colton Gordon.
There are still decisions to be made about the crowded infield and how they will sort out the playing time in the outfield, but their aggressive approach to pitching is an indicator that owner Jim Crane expects this team to be competitive again this season and not look to a rebuild even as veteran Astros like Jose Altuve edge towards the ends of their careers.
This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.
Related
AloJapan.com