There are currently four players from Japan’s NPB league that have been posted for MLB teams to bid on. Could any of them be a fit for the Houston Astros?
(Note: NPB consists of Pacific League (JPPL) and Central League (JPCL). JPPL has DH, JPCL does not)
1) SP Tatsuya Imai (27 years old, 5’ 11”, 154 lbs, Throws Right): Imai is a 3x NPB All-Star with the Saitama Seibu Lions who is coming off his best season. He has a fastball that tops out at 99 MPH and a sharp breaking slider that is considered by
many to be his best pitch. He also mixes in a splitter, cutter, and change-up. Imai has a three-quarter delivery that helps aid in deception.
Imai was 10-5 in 2025 with a career best 1.92 ERA over 163.2 IP with 178 K. He also posted a ridiculous 0.892 WHIP (Walks/Hits per Inning Pitched), demonstrating he kept traffic off the basepaths at an elite level. He averaged nearly 10K/9 and his 3.96 K/BB Ratio was not only tremendously strong but was also a career best.
While his 2025 ERA was a career best, it also represents a pattern with Imai. Since 2020, Imai has posted ERAs in Japan’s best league (NPB/JPPL) of (in order from 2021): 3.30, 2.41, 2.30, 2.34, 1.92. His progression has been steady and consistent, and could be looked at as a player reaching his best potential.
Imai is seen around the league as a mid-rotation starter who could potentially rise as high as a Number 2 starter. At 27, he is expected to command a nine-figure contract and be one of the most sought-after pitchers on the free agent market.
ASTROS FIT: Like a glove. Imai’s tremendous stuff plus the Astros well-known capabilities of getting the most out of pitchers would lend me to believe Imai’s path to best success in MLB is in Houston. He would immediately slide behind Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier and could potentially ascend to the Number 2 spot in the rotation. For a team desperate for starting pitching, and one that values elite stuff, Imai would make an immediate strong impact for the team. However, his nine-figure contract could be the ultimate detriment to a team looking to stay under the first tax as it goes into the season. Also, owner Jim Crane has long been against long-term contracts, especially for pitchers, on the free agent market. Imai’s age makes giving him a long term contract more sense, but with heavy competition coming from free spending teams like the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers, it would be a surprise for the Astros to land him.
2) 3B/1B Munetaka Murakami (25 years old, 6’ 2”, 213 lbs, Bats Left): Murakami was first elevated to NPB with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows at 18 years old, and has since been Rookie of the Year (2019), a 4x All-Star, 2x Home Run Leader, a 2x Central League MVP, and a Japan Series champion. He also holds the record for most home runs in a single season hit by a Japanese-born player with 56, breaking the record of the legendary Sadaharu Oh. He is the youngest player in to win MVP in NPB history.
Murakami has earned the nickname “Murakami-sama” because of his tremendous power, in reference to a “kami-sama” or god, that only a god could have such power. Murakami has also been a durable player, missing only 5 games in 4 seasons from 2021-2024 before an oblique injury suffered in Spring Training cost him the first three weeks of the 2025 season. He would later aggravate the injury which cost him a big chunk of the season.
However, in 56 games, Murakami posted a .273 AVG, .379 OBP and a terrific 1.043 OPS while mashing 22 HR in just 187 AB. While his prodigious power is highly desirable, of concern is his rising strikeout rate. After striking out 128 times in 487 AB in his MVP season in 2022, his strikeouts have risen substantially to 168 (496 AB) in 2023 and 180 (500 AB) in 2024. His 64 K in 187 AB in 2025 would have been a pace of 171 K in 500 AB.
The offset to that is that he also has a high walk rate. After walking 118 times in 2022, he earned 90 walks in 2023 and 105 walks in 2024. His 32 BB in 2025 in 224 PA translates to 86 walks over 600 PA.
Defensively, Murakami is considered below average at 3B, with his MLB position expected to be 1B where he is considered to be an average defender.
ASTROS FIT: Not a fit. Houston already has a logjam at 1B with Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes, with there being a high likelihood one of those players will not be on the team in 2026. Houston has been burned recently with a bad 1B contract to Jose Abreu, and has concerns about Walker’s deal, although Walker did post strong second half numbers in 2025 and he provides a high level of defense the team not had since Yuli Gurriel. Murakami is being projected for a contract length of anywhere between 5 years, $80M and 8 years, $158.5M. With the injury concern from last year and the unknown quantity of whether he can adapt to MLB velocities, this is not a risk the Astros need to take, nor should they.
3) 3B/1B Kazuma Okamoto (29 years old, 6’ 0”, 212 lbs, Bats Right): Known as “The Young General”, Okamoto is a 6x All-Star, 3x JPCL HR leader, 2x JPCL RBI leader, and 2x Gold Glove winner for the Yomiuri Giants.
Okamoto also has a reputation for being a highly durable player, playing in at least 140 of the NPBs 143 game schedule in 6 of 7 seasons between 2018 – 2024. However a collision at first base with a runner while trying to receive a throw resulted in an elbow injury that cost him 3 months of the season in 2025.
When he returned, he was perhaps at his best, finishing the 2025 season .327 with a .416 OBP and 1.014 OPS. He smashed 15 HR and 21 doubles in just 251 AB. Equally impressive were his improved contact and reduction in strikeouts, as he only struck out 33 times in 251 AB equating to an impressively low 11.3% strikeout rate.
ASTROS FIT: Not very well. With his primary positions being 3B and 1B, there isn’t room for Okamoto, despite the fact his bat does profile as the kind of bat the Astros seek – high average/on-base with power and not a lot of strikeouts. If he had more experience in the OF, perhaps this could be a different conversation, but with only 45 games in OF since 2019 that doesn’t translate. While his age (he will be 30 at the end of June) will lower his potential contract (estimated between 3 years, $35M and 5 years, $68M) to numbers more palatable to Houston historically, the team doesn’t have a need for another corner infielder.
4) SP Kona Takahashi (28 years old, 6’ 2”, 198 lbs, Throws Right): Takahashi is the least awarded of the quartet, with one All-Star appearance for the Saitama Seibu Lions.
Takahashi is a control artist as he doesn’t have overwhelming stuff. He generates soft contact to get outs. His fastball generally sits 93-95 MPH, with the ability to occasionally crank it up to 97. His best pitch is his splitter, which generates his most swings-and-misses and also gets a lot of soft contact. Takahashi also throws a solid slider, a cutter, and a curveball. His five-pitch arsenal helps him keep hitters off balance.
Takahashi has a career 3.39 ERA in NPB, but his recent career has been noteworthy. After posting two seasons of career best level ERAs (2022: 12-8, 2.20 ERA, 175.2 IP, 1.16 WHIP; 2023: 10-8, 2.21 ERA, 155 IP, 1.10 WHIP) Takahashi suffered his worst season record-wise as a professional, going 0-11 in 2024 with a 3.87 ERA over 81.1 IP. His WHIP soared to 1.451 as hit hit rate also reached 10.4, second highest of his career and far above his career average of 8.5.
Takahashi then rebounded well in 2025, going 8-9 with a 3.04 ERA in 148 IP, with a 1.23 WHIP and an 8.6 H/9 rate in line with his career norms.
ASTROS FIT: Decent fit. While Takahashi doesn’t have the raw stuff the analytically-minded Astros typically seek, he can fill the role of a back-end starter, a swingman, or a multi-inning reliever. The Astros, of course, need all of those roles after successive years of their pitching staff being decimated by injury. Takahashi gets a very strong groundball rate, and the Astros have had success with those types of pitchers. He also does not surrender many HRs. Due to his age (he turns 29 at the start of February) and his lack of strikeouts, his contract should be very reasonable. With contract estimates of 2 years, $20-25M, his demands seem much more in line with the Astros seeking value arms. Considering the Astros often get the absolute best out of pitchers, we could see unexpected value from a pitcher like Takahashi in an Astros uniform as a back-end starter/swingman, similar to the roles held by Ryan Gusto and Colton Gordon in 2025.
