Right-hander Tatsuya Imai has agreed to a three-year, $54 million deal with the Houston Astros, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.
Imai receives a $2 million signing bonus and salaries of $16 million this year and $18 million in each of the last two seasons. You can earn up to an additional $3 million in performance bonuses this year: $1 million each for 80, 90 and 100 entries.
Their 2027 and 2028 salaries would increase by the amount of performance bonuses earned in 2026, which could raise the value of the deal to $63 million over three years. I invite you to read: Barranquilla sweeps the preamble to the new year and Pelota Caliente continues as the leader
Imai can choose to terminate the contract after the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
Under the publishing agreement between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball, they must finalize the agreements by 5 p.m. EST on 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 began in 2024 and Masahiro Tanaka’s $22.14 million with the New York Yankees in a contract that ran from 2014 to 2020.
Imai is a strikeout pitcher
The 27-year-old right-hander went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA this season with the Seibu Lions of the Pacific League. He struck out 178 batters in 163 2/3 innings. I invite you to read: This is how Tigres de Cartagena is going in the Colombian Baseball League
Imai has a 58-45 record with a 3.15 ERA in eight seasons with Seibu, with 907 strikeouts in 963 2/3 innings. He has been 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 in 2004.
Under MLB’s publishing agreement with NPB, Seibu will receive a publishing fee of 9.675 million from the Astros and a supplemental fee of 15% of any bonuses earned, salary increases and options exercised.
