It’s still very early in the season, but thus far, the Houston Astros’ big “splurge” signing of this past offseason, Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai and his three-year, $54 million contract, appears to be a failure. Again, I‘ll stress “THUS FAR,” as there is plenty of time to pull Imai out of this nosedive.
This, however, has not been your garden variety early season struggle. Imai’s made three starts. He struggled in his debut against the Angels (lifted after 2.1 innings pitched), and was far better in his second start against the A’s (six shutout innings). The third start is the one that turned the Imai Experience into a crisis, a one-third of an inning outing in Seattle (three runs allowed, 37 pitches), a complete disaster.
It was so bad that Imai was sent back to Houston for imaging on his right arm, as Imai claimed that he was hurt. The imaging reportedly found zero irregularity with his arm, but the team still saw fit to put him on the 15 day Injured List with “right arm fatigue,” an injury designation I cannot recall ever seeing in my nearly 50 years of watching baseball.
Quite frankly, I think Imai’s only malady right now is whatever he’s battling mentally adjusting to the game here in America. I think his arm is fine, particularly because it’s hard to claim “fatigue” when you’re had just three starts, averaging three innings in each of them. The “right arm fatigue” is bogus, in my, opinion, but par for the course for a pitcher who seems to have more excuses for his wretched performance than he has innings pitched.
By my count, there are five aspects of his new experience here in America that Imai has cited in trying to explain his 2026 season, thus far. Let’s examine each of these and determine whether it’s an excuse (which is bad) or an explanation (which is tolerable, at least). Here we go:
The weather was too chilly in Seattle
Again, Imai’s third and most recent start to the season was in Seattle. He went one third of an inning. It was brutal. When asked about the start, Imai claimed (through an interpreter) that he wasn’t used to pitching in cooler weather, and perhaps that’s why he was so bad. The weather in Seattle at game time was 66 degrees, which is pleasant. More to the point, it’s not drastically different than the weather Imai pitched in when he was in Japan. Imai might literally be the only player in baseball who thinks 66 degrees is “too cool.”
WEATHER VERDICT: EXCUSE
Pitching mound issues
The other complaint from Imai after this painfully short outing in Seattle was that the mound was too hard. Again, there have been plenty of pitchers that have come from outside the United States (including Japan) where the mound texture has been just fine. Imai sounds like an extreme whiner when discussing how hard the mound is. Additionally, and more understandable as a reason for poor play, the mound in MLB is a different height than the mounds in the Japanese game. That is a legitimate adjustment, so I’ll give Imai partial grace on the mound issues
MOUND TEXTURE VERDICT: EXCUSE
MOUND HEGIHT VERDICT: EXPLANATION
The actual baseballs
The baseballs in Japan are a different size and have a different texture than the balls used in Major League Baseball. This is definitely an adjustment, and while it’s one I’d expect Imai to have resolved through spring training and the early season, the guy has so much other stuff to adjust to, I’ll give him the benefit of the Doubt on this one.
BASEBALL TEXTURE VERDICT: EXPLANATION
American lifestyle and dining times
Through his interpreter earlier this week, after going on the IL, Imai lamented the overall adjustment to America. The interpreter, conveying Imai’s thoughts, said “The timing when the players eat. In Japan, when they get back to the hotel, they eat their dinner. Here, the players eat at the stadium. He thought it would be the same as in Japan, for example, eating dinner at the hotel. He thinks, even though he’s on the IL right now, he thinks it’s a positive thing to try and adjust and try to become better.” I don’t know if anybody has told Imai this, but I’m guessing the team will let him eat where and when he wants to.
LIFESTYLE AND DINING VERDICT: EXCUSE
SUMMARY
The entire start to the season, for the team and Imai, have both been major disappointments. For the team, it’s the fact that they’ve squandered some other worldly offensive performances because their pitching is so bad. For Imai, it’s the fact that he’s had to concoct this (likely) phony injury designation, just to clear his head. This is after his signing was treated with great fanfare by the Astros, who paraded him around town back in December like he was Shohei Ohtani. Let’s hope this all gets better, on all fronts.
