Tatsuya Imai signing’s biggest selling point may now be Astros’ barrier to a solution

It is completely fair to wonder if the Houston Astros made a huge mistake in adding Tatsuya Imai. Whether it is a health concern, trouble adjusting to MLB and/or living in the US, a lack of ability, or some combination of all of those things, the first impression Imai has made has not been good whatsoever. Now, what appeared to be a potential bargain is quickly turning into a problem.

After completely flaming out in his return from the injured list, Imai now holds a 9.24 ERA and 6.66 FIP through his first MLB 12.2 innings and is walking more than a batter an inning. At the time, most outside observers were a bit surprised by how reasonable his deal with the Astros ended up being, given most of the contract projections out there.

Unfortunately, it is that very contract that may make it extremely difficult to get rid of Imai on the Astros' terms if he is truly a bust.

Tatsuya Imai's contract makes the Astros moving on from him extremely problematic

Imai's contract is relatively straightforward to understand. It is a three-year, $54 million deal that includes incentives allowing Imai to earn a bit more money, as well as opt-outs after each season. In theory, the deal should have been a win-win for both sides, but that is not what it looks like now.

As bad as Imai has been, Houston would really struggle to offload his contract to another team. Not only has Imai not looked like an MLB pitcher, but the structure of his deal removes almost any upside from a potential trade. If Imai figures things out with a new team, he would probably just opt out of his deal at the end of the year. If he remains bad, the contract is an albatross. The Astros can't even pretend to sell Imai’s years of control in that world. Unless they are willing to eat most of the contract, they are probably stuck with Imai.

That should add some urgency to fix whatever is wrong with Imai and quickly. The Astros already have more than their fair share of rotation issues at the moment, and they have to turn things around soon if it is going to happen at all. Unfortunately, even moving on from Imai if he is a bust isn't as easy as you would think.

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