Tatsuya Imai Signing 3-Year, $54 Million Deal with Astros Sparks Wild Reactions from Fans: “Nobody Wants to Be a Yankee”

Tatsuya Imai's $54 million deal with the Houston Astros could reach up to $63 million with the incentives in his contract.

Tatsuya Imai Signing 3-Year, $54 Million Deal with Astros Sparks Wild Reactions from Fans: “Nobody Wants to Be a Yankee”

Tatsuya Imai (Image via New York Post)

Tatsuya Imai is officially heading to Houston. On the first day of the new year, the Astros landed the right-handed pitcher on a 3-year, $54 million deal. The 27-year-old had been one of the top names in free agency.

In the 2025 season with the Seibu Lions in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), he went 10-5 in 24 games with a 1.92 ERA and 178 strikeouts. In the offseason, he got posted by the Lions and had a 45-day negotiation window. Despite attracting huge interest, his pursuit slowed down a bit.

A few days ago, the pitcher expressed that he did not have concrete offers from the teams. The Astros have now successfully landed him. As per reports, his 3-year deal has a base value of $54 million and includes an opt-out clause after every season.

Moreover, he does have some incentives as well. Imai can earn $3 million if he throws 100 innings in 2026. According to MLB insider Mark Feinsand, if the Japanese starter pitcher does this, his salary would become $21 million in the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

A month ago, the Astros landed free agent Ryan Weiss. The right-handed pitcher agreed to a 1-year deal after pitching in Korea for the last two seasons. He and Imai are two of the four starting pitchers signed by the Astros this offseason and are expected to be part of the starting rotation in the 2026 season

Social media reacts to Tatsuya Imai joining the Astros

The Houston Astros have won the sweepstakes for Tatsuya Imai. As his window was drawing close to an end, the American League West side stepped in and agreed on terms with the pitcher and made him one of the top signings of this offseason.

Tatsuya Imai
Tatsuya Imai (Image via Bleacher Report)

Fans on social media would go wild following this development. Some of them would take a swipe at the New York Yankees for failing to sign him and troll them. One user wrote, “Nobody wants to be a Yankee” while taking a swipe at the Bronx Bombers.

Check out that and some reactions from X below:

Tatsuya Imai has now become the third high-profile Japanese starting pitcher to make it to the MLB in as many years. In 2023, Yoshinobu Yamamoto penned down a massive 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Last year, the Dodgers also picked up another Japanese star in Roki Sasaki. He, however, did not get the same kind of amount as Yamamoto due to MLB’s international amateur free agent rules.

The Yankees reportedly were not seriously involved in talks with Tatsuya Imai

As Tatsuya Imai joined the Houston Astros, the New York Yankees missed out on another Japanese starting pitcher. However, as per insider Jon Heyman, the team was not seriously involved in final talks with him.

Tatsuya Imai
Tatsuya Imai (Image via MLB)

The Yankees were one team that was heavily linked with him. In a recent charity event, manager Aaron Boone expressed that they had not met with him and did not have any future meetings scheduled.

A few days later, YES Network’s Jack Curry claimed that he would not sign with the Yankees. Following Imai’s deal with the Astros, Heyman claimed that neither the Yankees nor the New York Mets were involved in serious talks with him. The Chicago Cubs were reported to be in the mix before the Astros won the bidding.

Speaking of the Astros, they missed out on the playoffs last season for the first time in 9 seasons, finishing with an 87-75 record. With Imai now on their team, they will be hoping to get back to the postseason and make another deep playoff run.

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