Astros may lose Tatsuya Imai way earlier than expected

Tatsuya Imai may have expected more money when he came to MLB.

It's not that his three year, $54 million contract with the Houston Astros wasn't a bad payday. But he had a case to be given much more.

If he'd like, he may get another opportunity to get the big money sooner rather than later.

MLB Trade Rumors' Darragh McDonald pointed out in a new article that Imai's deal has an opt-out available to him after this season.

"Some, including us, thought that a team would bet on the upside," McDonald wrote. "MLBTR predicted Imai to land a six-year deal worth $150MM. It seems no club was willing to go to that length, at least not yet. Imai signed a three-year, $54MM deal with the Astros. Opt-outs after each season give him a chance to return to free agency, ideally with a track record of success as a major league starter. He is still relatively young, turning 28 in May, so he should still be able to secure a long-term deal in the future if the results are there."

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Imai has captured attention early on for a slider that essentially moves the opposite way every other slider does.

It'll be his overall production and ability that prove whether an opt-out after this season is wise, or if he should stick around for a couple more seasons at $18 million per year.

"Beating two years and $36MM would be easy if he’s a 29-year-old mid-rotation starter but he will probably stay if he doesn’t quite cement himself or gets pushed to the bullpen," McDonald writes.

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The Astros would love for Imai to reach his ceiling. That just might mean he leaves them earlier than they would like.

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