Astros land top Japanese pitcher available with major contract

The best Japanese starting pitcher on the market is no longer available.

Free agent right-hander Tatsuya Imai and the Houston Astros have agreed on a three-year contract with opt outs that could be worth up to $63 million, multiple news outlets reported on Thursday, Jan. 1.

The agreement comes one day before Imai’s 45-day window to sign with an MLB team was set to expire on Friday, Jan. 2.

The deal includes $54 million guaranteed and will pay the former Nippon Professional Baseball star $18 million a year with $3 million in performance bonuses that could make the total $21 million per year, MLB reporter Jon Heyman reported.

Imai had longer-term deals with a lower annual salary on the table, according to MLB.com, but chose to go to Houston on a shorter-term deal with a higher average annual value and opt outs. The 27-year-old was 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA, 178 strikeouts and 45 walks in 163⅔ innings with the Seibu Lions in 2025. He went 58-45 with a 3.15 ERA in eight seasons with Seibu, with 907 strikeouts in 963⅔ innings.

Imai’s agent, Scott Boras, recently compared him to 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, $325-million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2024 season.