Astros rookie right-hander Tatsuya Imai was placed on the injured list after just three starts with right arm fatigue, with the move coming directly after a loss to the Mariners in which he recorded just one out and struggled to throw strikes.
Imaging came back clean on Imai’s shoulder and arm, so the club will now focus on building up his arm strength. But the reasoning for his fatigue could have something to do with what he deemed through an interpreter Tuesday as trouble adjusting to the “American lifestyle,” both on the field and off.
The 27-year-old -- who signed a three-year, $54 million deal with Houston from Nippon Professional Baseball’s Saitama Seibu Lions -- also said this spring that he was still trying to get used to the slightly larger MLB ball.
After last Friday’s rough start in Seattle, he added that he was not used to a hard mound or cooler temperatures, which were “not usual” when he was in Japan. Six of 12 NPB stadiums, including Seibu’s, are a dome or have a retractable roof.
Other routine-related hiccups have occurred for Imai, too.
"The travel is different from Japan, and also the timing when players eat,” Imai said. “In Japan, the players, when they get back to the hotel, they eat their dinner. But here, the players eat at the stadium, so that’s one of the things that [I] have to adjust.”
The Astros’ pitching depth has been heavily tested early in 2026 with three starters -- Imai, Cristian Javier and ace Hunter Brown -- already on the IL.