Astros Reach Deal With Japan Star Tatsuya Imai for Three Years, $54 Million

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros have reached an agreement with Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai on a three-year contract guaranteeing $54 million that could be worth up to $63 million with bonuses and escalators, according to multiple people familiar with the deal.

The agreement, reached just before the expiration of Imai’s posting window on Friday, is pending a physical and has not been formally announced by the club. Imai, 27, was posted this offseason by the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Pacific League after emerging as one of Japan’s top starting pitchers over the past three years.

Contract terms and structure

Under the reported terms, Imai would receive a $2 million signing bonus and salaries of $16 million in 2026 and $18 million in both 2027 and 2028. The contract includes performance bonuses of up to $3 million in 2026 tied to innings thresholds — $1 million each for 80, 90 and 100 innings — and player opt-outs after the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

If he reaches the innings triggers, those bonuses would also raise the value of the final two seasons, pushing the total potential value to $63 million.

Why Houston targeted Imai

For the Astros, the agreement is a high-priced but relatively short-term bid to stabilize a starting rotation that unraveled in 2025, contributing to the franchise’s first postseason absence since 2016. For Imai, the deal represents both a significant financial commitment and a bet that he can quickly prove himself in Major League Baseball, then re-enter the market in his late 20s.

Houston finished 87-75 last season, second in the American League West, and lost a tiebreaker to the Detroit Tigers for the final wild-card spot. The club’s eight-year streak of playoff appearances and run of seven consecutive AL Championship Series berths ended amid a wave of pitching injuries.

Three members of the projected 2025 rotation — Ronel Blanco, Spencer Arrighetti and Hayden Wesneski — combined for 24 starts, with several pitchers, including Blanco and Wesneski, undergoing Tommy John surgery. Only left-hander Framber Valdez and right-hander Hunter Brown made more than 14 starts.

General manager Dana Brown said in November that upgrading the rotation was the organization’s top offseason objective.

“Our number one priority is starting pitching,” Brown told reporters at the GM meetings. “We’re looking at all of the candidates. If we can’t nail someone at the top we’ll go to the middle, and if we can’t get the middle guy then we’ll go to the back. But we want to create more depth and solidify the back half of the rotation.”

Valdez, a longtime workhorse who threw at least 176 innings in three of the previous four seasons, reached free agency this winter and is widely expected to depart after declining the club’s qualifying offer. Imai’s arrival would give Houston a fresh front-line arm to pair with Brown, an AL Cy Young Award finalist in 2025, while Cristian Javier and a group of younger and rehabbing pitchers round out the staff.

Imai’s track record in Japan

Imai comes to MLB after eight seasons with Seibu, where he posted a 58-45 record and a 3.15 ERA over 963 2/3 innings. His early years were uneven — he recorded ERAs of 4.81, 4.32 and 6.13 from 2018 through 2020 — but he has been one of NPB’s most effective starters since 2023.

Over the past three seasons, Imai recorded an ERA of roughly 2.18, with about 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings. In 2025, he went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA, 178 strikeouts and 45 walks in 163 2/3 innings, earning his third NPB All-Star selection.

His 2025 campaign included two showcase performances. In April, he threw eight no-hit innings as part of a combined no-hitter against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Two months later, he struck out 17 in a two-hit shutout against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, breaking Daisuke Matsuzaka’s single-game strikeout record for a Seibu pitcher.

Scouting report and MLB projection

Scouts describe Imai as an undersized but explosive right-hander with a low three-quarters arm slot that borders on sidearm and creates a deceptive angle. His four-seam fastball averaged around 94 to 95 mph last season and touched the upper 90s at peak. His main swing-and-miss weapon is a mid-80s slider with a high whiff rate, complemented by a changeup and splitter he uses particularly against left-handed hitters. He also mixes in an occasional curveball and has experimented with a sinker.

Baseball America and other evaluators have projected him as a major league-ready No. 3 starter with a chance to pitch above that level if his stuff and improved control carry over against MLB lineups.

Scott Boras, Imai’s agent, has compared his client’s NPB résumé to that of fellow Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2024 season.

“Certainly, he’s done everything that Yamamoto’s done in NPB,” Boras said earlier this offseason, arguing that recent top NPB pitchers have translated quickly into front-of-the-rotation arms in the majors.

Imai’s financial terms underscore how highly clubs value that potential. His guaranteed average annual value of $18 million would place him among the top three Japanese pitchers by AAV on their first MLB contracts, alongside Yamamoto and former New York Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka and ahead of the five-year, $75 million deal Kodai Senga signed with the New York Mets before the 2023 season.

The structure is notable as well. Rather than pursuing a five- or six-year guarantee that some analysts projected in the $100 million range, Imai chose a shorter contract with higher annual pay and multiple opt-outs. People familiar with the negotiations said he turned down longer but lower-AAV proposals from other clubs.

Posting fee and league-wide interest

Under the MLB–NPB posting system, the Lions stand to receive a fee based on the guaranteed value of the contract: 20% of the first $25 million, 17.5% of the next $25 million and 15% of any amount above $50 million. On a $54 million guarantee, that would equate to roughly $9.675 million, with an additional 15% of any earned bonuses or escalated salary.

The agreement also ends a competitive pursuit involving several big-market teams. The Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves were among the clubs reported to have shown interest during the 45-day negotiating window.

Imai’s choice of Houston over the Dodgers adds an extra layer of intrigue. In interviews in Japan, he has said he prefers to face the Dodgers rather than join them, even as fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki have signed with Los Angeles in recent years. After the Dodgers added closer Edwin Díaz in December, Imai was quoted as saying the club “doesn’t need” him, emphasizing his desire for a different challenge.

He has also spoken publicly about wanting to take a tougher route in adjusting to MLB, including playing without a large group of Japanese teammates and testing his fastball against hitters like Ohtani.

At the news conference announcing his posting, Imai said his objective would remain unchanged no matter where he signed.

“My goal has always been to win a league championship and Japan Series,” he said then. “That will not change with a new team. I will compete with a strong desire to win and do my best to contribute.”

What it means for the Astros

If the agreement is finalized, Imai would become one of a small number of Japanese players to suit up for the Astros, following infielder Kaz Matsui and outfielder Nori Aoki. It would be the franchise’s largest financial commitment to a player coming directly from NPB and could raise the club’s profile in the Japanese market through broadcasts and sponsorships.

For Houston, the move signals that the organization still views its contention window as open despite last season’s setback and payroll concerns. By paying a premium in annual salary and accepting the risk of early opt-outs, the Astros avoid a decade-long commitment while placing a significant wager that Imai can anchor the front half of their rotation alongside Brown.

For Imai, the deal offers a platform: a prominent role on a club accustomed to October, a contract that recognizes his status among recent Japanese imports and the flexibility to seek an even larger payday if he proves he can handle the jump to MLB lineups.

Whether that bet pays off for either side will play out over the next few summers, under the bright lights at Minute Maid Park and, if both parties get what they want, in the postseason that slipped away from Houston just a year ago.