Tatsuya Imai Impresses Astros Fans by Throwing up H at Texans Game

The Houston Astros’ newest starting pitcher has wasted no time trying to impress the city’s fan base.

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros blindsided much of the baseball world by signing Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai this weekend.

Now, he’s already working to get the locals on his side.

His first public appearance in Houston was on Sunday as he sat in a suite at NRG Stadium as the Houston Texans played their final regular-season game. At one point, Imai appeared on the stadium’s large video board and, well, he did the one thing that the locals love — he threw up the H.

Tatsuya Imai in Houston

It was the throwing up the H for me. pic.twitter.com/XVSRJFz3n5

— Julia Morales (@JuliaMorales) January 4, 2026

Space City Home Network’s Julia Morales, who is the Astros’ dugout reporter, was at the game and captured the moment of Imai greeting Houston’s fans and throwing up the H.

Imai hasn’t even thrown a baseball in spring training, and he’s likely created a wider base of fans, even though it’s possible that Imai will only be in Houston for one year.

While he signed a three-year deal, it comes with opt-outs after each season. Imai will make $18 million in 2026, with escalators based on performance that will push it to $21 million. If he plays out the deal, he’ll make a reported $54 million.

Imai had to get a deal done by Friday or return to play in Japan in 2026, per the NPB posting rules. The deal enables him to start his MLB career and gives him some freedom to explore the market again without a deadline next offseason. For the Astros, it gives them a foothold of success in Asian baseball, an area where they have struggled to lure free agents in the past.

With the Imai deal, the Astros are probably done assembling their starting rotation for 2026. Framber Valdez remains a free agent, but neither side seems interested in a reunion. Hunter Brown should top the rotation and get the opening day starter after he finished third in American League Cy Young voting. Imai slots in somewhere between Cristian Javier and Spencer Arrighetti.

The fifth spot in the rotation will be a massive competition that will include Jason Alexander, Lance McCullers Jr., Ryan Weiss and Mike Burrows. Three other starters could return at some point in 2026 from elbow surgery, including Hayden Wesneski, Ronel Blanco and Brandon Walter.

Houston also has a young pitcher in Miguel Ullola, who was moved to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He showed enough at Triple-A Sugar Land last season to make him a potential dark horse for the last spot.