The Philadelphia Phillies have wanted to sign a Japanese star for a while now. They’ve been wanting to get into the market of baseball players coming out of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league and the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). Unfortunately, they won't be getting their foot in the door after Tatsuya Imai reportedly agreed to a contract with the Houston Astros on New Year’s Day, according to Jon Heyman.
The star right-hander was posted by the Seibu Lions and had until Jan. 2 at 5 p.m. ET to sign a deal to move to MLB. His new deal with the Astros is reportedly for three years and can max out at $63 million. It will be the second-largest AAV for a Japanese pitcher after Yoshinobu Yamamoto, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.
The Astros are in agreement with Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai on a three-year contract, source tells @TheAthletic. The deal maxes out at $63 million and contains opt outs after every season.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) January 1, 2026
At this time we don't know if the Phillies made an offer or how much that offer might have been for. All we know is that Imai won't be pitching in Philadelphia.
Phillies miss out on signing star Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai
From the beginning of the offseason right up until the last week of his posting, the Phillies had been reported to be one of the teams interested in signing the 27-year-old two-time NPB All-Star. However, it was, overall, a very quiet negotiating period.
After managing partner John Middleton and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski were willing to offer Yamamoto the biggest contract two winters ago, you could envision a path where the Phillies would have been okay blowing past their expected 2026 payroll for the chance to finally land an NPB star. But alas, another one has slipped through their fingers.
It even sounded like they had a real chance after Imai publicly said that he didn't want to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who always have an edge when pursuing Japanese talent. Saying that he'd rather beat the two-time defending World Series champs, plus not necessarily wanting to play with other Japanese players, the Phillies looked like a perfect fit for Imai.
In eight NPB seasons, Imai has a career 3.15 ERA and is coming off a phenomenal 2025 season in which he posted a 10-5 record with a 1.92 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, and 178 strikeouts across 163 2/3 innings in 24 starts. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 154 pounds, his vast arsenal of pitches includes a big 99 mph fastball along with a nasty slider and changeup.
In addition to finally giving the Phillies a direct-from-Japan signing, Imai would have been a nice boost to a starting rotation that has some question marks heading into 2026.
Ace Zack Wheeler will be working his way back from thoracic outlet decompression surgery this fall. Top prospect Andrew Painter had a rough season but the Phillies expect him to compete for a spot inthe starting five, although nothing is guaranteed. Veteran Taijuan Walker is the fallback option. There's not much depth beyond that.
Imai would have drastically changed the complexion of the Phillies’ rotation. Oh well, Phillies fans are used this by now.