Red Sox loyalist gives verdict on Astros' 2026 rotation ft. Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai, Lance McCullers Jr.

The Houston Astros added a much-needed rotation piece in the offseason after signing Japanese starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai on a three-year, $54 million deal on Thursday.

Imai, who posted career-best numbers with the Nippon Professional Baseball club, the Saitama Seibu Lions, in 2025, joins a rotation featuring Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, Spencer Arrighetti, Lance McCullers Jr., and Jason Alexander.

Boston Red Sox podcaster Robbie Hyde gave his verdict on the Astros' rotation for the 2026 season after Imai's addition.

"I really like this deal for the Astros for a few reasons," Hyde said. "I'm gonna go over those. So take a look at the Astros rotation here, they got Hunter Brown as one, Christian Javier as the two, Imai as the three. I would actually swap those guys, I think Imai is more of a number two here. Lance McCullers Jr. as the four and Mike Burrows, who they got back in the three-way trade with Brandon Lowe going to the Pirates, as the five. "I actually think Burrows is one of the more underrated additions of this offseason, but that's a different conversation for a different day. But overall really liking the way this rotation is looking, especially if Christian Javier and Lance can stay healthy. If all these guys can stay healthy, I think the rotation has a lot of potential. I love the one-two punch of Hunter Brown and Tatsuya Imai."

The Astros failed to make the postseason last year with injuries to Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski, Brandon Walter, Spencer Arrighetti and Lance McCullers Jr. playing a crucial role in their underwhelming season.

Astros' Japanese ace Tatsuya Imai will be under pressure after lucrative MLB contract

With the addition of Tatsuya Imai to the rotation, the Astros will make another strong case for the postseason in 2026. Imai posted a 10-5 record with a career-best 1.92 ERA and 178 strikeouts in 163 2/3 innings with the Lions last season.

It'll be interesting to see how Imai handles the pressure of being in the big leagues, especially with his contract having the second-highest AAV for a Japanese pitcher behind the Los Angeles Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash