Joe Espada's Postgame Tatsuya Imai Quote Shows Astros Dire Need for Starting Pitching

This quote shouldn't come as a surprise to Houston fans, given the current state their starting pitching is in.

Joe Espada | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

When the Houston Astros signed Japanese star Tatsuya Imai in January, it was a move that general manager Dana Brown was going to help ease the loss of left-hander Framber Valdez. Slotting him behind Hunter Brown at the top of the rotation made too much sense.

However, as nobody can predict, injuries have played a huge part in the Astros ' struggles to begin the 2026 season. On their season-opening road trip, they lost three starters to injuries, Brown, Imai and Christian Javier. All of those injuries required injured-list stops for those starters.

Imai began working his way back from his injury. His start against the Seattle Mariners was seen as a huge step toward the starting rotation improving and slowly returning to full strength.

As it turns out, his start was not a good one, but manager Joe Espada's quote after the game shows just what a dire situation his rotation is in.

Astros Manager Joe Espada Gives Blunt Answer Following Tatsuya Imai's Start

Tatsuya Imai | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Again, the strating rotation is in a dire situation. Houston is slowly fading in the American League West Division. There is still a lot of time left in the regular season, but they are six games back of the Athletics following Tuesday night's loss. After the game, Espada didn't beat around the bush about Imai's next start.

“He’s going to make his next start,” Espada said.

There you go. He'll be back out there next time his spot in the rotation comes around, likely on Sunday afternoon at home against the Texas Rangers. That's when his spot will come up again.

Imai's start against Seattle was not what the Astros were hoping it would be. He struggled with command, which was understandable, but he needed 80 pitches to get through four innings, allowing six runs on five hits, walking three, and striking out three. That outing raised his ERA to 9.24 on the season.

Going into the season, pitching was going to be a question mark for Houston. Dana Brown added Imai and Mike Burrows in the offseason. Burrows, acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-team deal that also included the Tampa Bay Rays, is 2-4 with a 5.04 ERA in eight starts.

Lance McCullers, Jr. and Peter Lambert, and Spencer Arrighetti have kept the rotation afloat.

Fixing the starting rotation is not easy for Dana Brown and Espada. Hunter Brown returning would be a huge addition, but Espada saying that Imai will make his next start after his struggles on Tuesday night sums up the dire situation the starting rotation is currently in.