The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2025 World Series with the help of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the team’s prized free agent signing in 2024. Yamamoto has had plenty of help along the way, as has Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers’ prized 2025 free agent signing, and Shohei Ohtani, a two-way identity in the modern cheat code.
Once upon a time, these three players were stars of Nippon Professional Baseball, eager to prove that their talents could shine in the Major League Baseball. Now, the Houston Astros are hoping Tatsuya Imai can be the next Japanese pitcher to make that leap. The Astros agreed to terms with Imai on Thursday, according to Jon Heyman.
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According to Chandler Roman of The Athletic, the deal is for three seasons and could be worth up to $63 million. Imai’s contract also reportedly includes an opt-out at the end of each season.
While the deal was shorter than expected, Imai will receive the second-highest average annual salary among Japanese-born pitchers, with Yamamoto at the top.
Imai, 27, arrives in Major League Baseball (MLB) after an impressive year with the Seibu Lions in Japan. In 2025, he pitched 163 2/3 innings with the Lions and had a 1.92 ERA. He had 178 strikeouts and 45 walks.
While those numbers are impressive, Imai’s arrival in the major leagues came with less hype than any of the three Dodgers stars who made the same transition. Considering Ohtani’s status as a two-way player, it would be foolish to compare him to other players. But purely from a pitching perspective, Sasaki and Yamamoto had a more impressive record than Imai when the Dodgers duo arrived in the majors.
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That, coupled with a slight decline in NPB’s offense, has resulted in Imai being viewed as a step below some of the top starting pitchers on the free agent market.
However, the 27-year-old Imai still has a chance to get better. In fact, the right-hander has the ability to strikeout and limit walks and home runs. He brings a unique repertoire to the Grand Slams. In addition to his fastball and slider, Imai throws a splitter and changeup, a rarely used combination. That could give him an advantage early on, when major league hitters will be learning how to hit without proven scouting reports.
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Typical concerns for pitchers coming out of the NPB also apply to Imai, including the different sizes of baseballs and the increased workload that comes with pitching in the MLB rotation. Imai showed some signs that the latter wouldn’t be an issue, as he not only increased his workload his final two years with the Lions, but also showed better fastball velocity during that time, suggesting the increased workload didn’t add too much fatigue to his arm.
Given the success of that trio with the Dodgers, as well as the success of pitchers like Shota Imonaga of the Chicago Cubs and Moriga Kodai of the New York Mets, Imai will be under pressure to perform at a high level immediately.
The Astros believe he has the ability to deliver on that promise and are likely willing to pay big money to have him on their side.
This story will be updated.