The biggest acquisition the Houston Astros made last offseason was the signing of Japanese starter Tatsuya Imai. This was a big deal and the first player the Astros directly brought from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League to star with their club in MLB.
Imai signed a three-year, $54 million contract with Houston in January that could have reached up to $63 million based on performance incentives that involved innings pitched. The deal featured player opt-out clauses after the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
After the 28-year-old struggled in his debut season in Houston with a 4.93 ERA in 23 games (15 starts) and a 1.42 WHIP in 76.2 innings, there were even some questions about whether Imai would opt out of the contract after one year.
Houston Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai pitches during the second inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
That was answered on Thursday, as Imai will not opt out, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Imai is now set for an $18 million base salary for 2027 and has another opt-out available at the end of next season. The reality is it's not surprising at all that he opted in given his performance this year and the fact that he wouldn't have received a contract like this elsewhere.
Additionally, it would've likely been more difficult for him to adapt and to make another move to a new team after just coming from Japan earlier this year.
If Imai had thrown 100 innings this season, he would've earned $3 million in incentives, and the base salary would've been $21 million for both the 2027 and 2028 seasons. If Imai stays the course of his contract, he'll have $36 million over the next two years.
Imai's rookie season was very uneven and featured some great highs and very poor lows. He was initially a starter in the rotation for roughly the first four months of the season, and then got moved to the bullpen after his inconsistent struggles continued.
The right-hander was hardly used over the last two months out of the bullpen and mainly had appearances when the game was already out of reach. He pitched 18 total innings since August.
Imai initially dealt with a big culture change and publicly discussed some of the issues with adapting to the American game. After he went only 0.1 innings at Seattle in April and allowed up three earned runs, Imai went on the 15-day injured list with right-arm fatigue.
He returned later in May and steadily got better. However, Imai could not find command in a lot of his starts, especially in the first inning. Imai was part of the Astros' combined no-hitter against the Texas Rangers in May after he threw six shutout innings.
The Astros will hope Imai improves his command and throws strikes over what could be an extended offseason. The talent is there , with an outstanding slider and various pitches. It's all about developing that at the MLB level.
It will be interesting to see what kind of role he'll have next season given starting pitching is a need.
Additionally, it was announced on Thursday that the Astros declined the $5 million club option on right-hander Ryan Weiss, per Jesse Rodgers of ESPN . He will have a $500K buyout and will now be a free agent. This move seemed obvious, as the signing of Weiss, who had a couple of successful seasons in South Korea, failed for Houston.
Weiss posted a whopping 7.62 ERA in 26 innings and spent most of his time at Triple-A Sugar Land.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/astros/onsi as Tatsuya Imai Makes Key Decision on Astros Contract .
