The Houston Astros have reached an agreement with Japanese pitching standout Tatsuya Imai on a free-agent contract, sources told CBSSPORT.NET on Thursday.
Imai, 27, is set to sign a three-year deal guaranteeing $54 million, with the potential to earn up to $63 million. The contract also includes opt-out options, according to MLB Network.
Imai became one of the most intriguing international free agents this offseason, drawing comparisons to 2025 postseason stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Trey Yesavage. His agent, Scott Boras, likened Imai to Yamamoto, the World Series MVP, during the MLB general managers meetings last November, stating, “Certainly, he’s done everything Yamamoto’s done.”
In 2025, Imai excelled for the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), finishing with a 10-5 record, 1.92 ERA, and 178 strikeouts in 163⅔ innings, while walking just 45 batters. Known for a fastball ranging from 93-97 mph and touching 99 mph, Imai also showed improved command, cutting his walks per nine innings from 5.1 in 2022 to 2.5 in 2025.
Imai has had several standout performances, including pitching eight innings of a combined no-hitter against Fukuoka on April 18 and striking out 17 batters against Yokohama on June 17, breaking Daisuke Matsuzaka’s 2004 team record. Over eight seasons with Seibu, Imai compiled a 58-45 record with a 3.15 ERA and 907 strikeouts in 963⅔ innings, earning three All-Star selections.
Imai’s pitching arsenal features an unusual arm-side slider rather than the typical glove-side break and a splitter as his top off-speed pitch—similar to Toronto rookie Trey Yesavage. His ability to generate a 45% miss rate and a .212 expected wOBA on his slider contributed to his success in 2025.
Under MLB’s posting system, the Astros will pay Seibu a posting fee of $9.675 million plus 15% of any earned bonuses, salary escalators, or exercised options. Imai will not be subject to a qualifying offer, meaning the Astros won’t have to give up draft compensation, unlike they would have for free-agent pitchers Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, or Zac Gallen.
