Baseball

Right-Hander Tatsuya Imai and Houston Astros Agree to $54 Million, 3-Year Contract, AP Source Says

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Tatsuya Imai is seen in November 2023.

The Associated Press

10:29 JST, January 2, 2026

Right-hander Tatsuya Imai and the Houston Astros have agreed to a $54 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced.

Imai gets a $2 million signing bonus and salaries of $16 million this year and $18 million in each of the final two seasons.

Based on his 2026 performance, his 2027 salary would escalate by $2 million each for 80, 90 and 100 innings, and his 2028 salary by $1 million for each level.

If he doesn’t pitch 80 innings in 2026 and does in 2027, his 2028 salary would rise by $1 million. If he doesn’t pitch 90 innings in 2026 and does in 2027, his 2028 salary would increase by another $1 million. And if he doesn’t pitch 100 innings in 2026 and does in 2027, his 2028 salary also would increase by another $1 million.

Imai can opt out after the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

Under the posting agreement between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball, a deal must be finalized by 5 p.m. EST Friday.

Imai receives the third-highest average annual value for a Japanese pitcher entering Major League Baseball behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s $27.08 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers in a deal that started in 2024 and Masahiro Tanaka’s $22.14 million with the New York Yankees in a contract that ran from 2014-20.

A 27-year-old righty, Imai went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA last season for the Pacific League’s Seibu Lions. He struck out 178 batters in 163 2/3 innings.

Imai is 58-45 with a 3.15 ERA in eight seasons with Seibu, with 907 strikeouts in 963 2/3 innings. He is a three-time All-Star.

Imai pitched eight innings of a combined no-hitter against Fukuoka on April 18. He struck out 17 against Yokohama on June 17, breaking Daisuke Matsuzaka’s previous team record of 16 from 2004.

Under MLB’s posting agreement with NPB, Seibu will get a posting fee of $9.675 million from the Astros and a supplemental fee of 15% of any earned bonuses, salary escalators and exercised options.