The Astros and right-hander Tatsuya Imai are in agreement on a three-year, $54MM contract, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman adds that Imai can earn up to $3MM per year in incentives if he reaches 100 innings. The deal contains opt-outs after every year, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.
Imai was one of the top starters available in free agency and coming off a career-best 1.92 ERA season with the Saitama Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. It was reported several days ago that he was meeting with teams in-person in advance of his January 2 signing deadline. The Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Phillies, and Orioles were among the clubs interested in signing him, so the Astros are a bit of a surprise destination.
We at MLBTR ranked Imai No. 7 on our Top 50 Free Agents list and projected him for a six-year, $150MM contract. This deal with Houston comes in at half the length of that projection, with around a third of the guaranteed money. It appeared that Imai had other offers on the table for longer terms but lower AAVs (link via Mark Feinsand of MLB.com). The opt-outs in his deal with Houston allow him to try for a bigger contract in future offseasons if he can prove himself in MLB.
Imai is 27 years old (28 in May) and has pitched to a 3.15 ERA in 963 2/3 career NPB innings. He debuted in 2018 at age 20 and made 16 appearances (15 starts), but struggled with a 4.97 ERA. Those early struggles continued from 2019-20. In the pandemic season, Imai had a 6.13 ERA in 61 2/3 innings and walked more batters than he struck out, which resulted in him temporarily being moved to the bullpen. He rebounded in 2021, posting a 3.30 ERA in 158 1/3 innings with an improved strikeout rate, and he has stuck as a starting pitcher ever since.
That kicked off a run of dominance from 2022-25. After posting a 2.41 ERA in nine starts with the Lions in 2022, Imai followed up with a 2.30 ERA and a 24.4% strikeout rate in 133 innings in 2023. While he did walk 11.4% of hitters that year, his strikeout and walk numbers improved year over year from 2023-25. This year, he struck out 27.8% of hitters (highest among qualified NPB starters) and walked just 7.0%. His 20.7% K-BB rate was third-best in that league. Imai also did very well at keeping the ball in the yard, allowing just six home runs all season (0.33 HR/9) and inducing groundballs 48.3% of the time. Overall, he enters the majors with a higher ceiling and much-improved control compared to his early career.
In terms of stuff, Imai profiles as a mid-rotation starter in the majors. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and can reach 99 mph, and he also throws a slider, splitter, and changeup. His excellent performance from 2022-25 made him an attractive target in free agency, although some evaluators were concerned about his secondary stuff and past struggles with control. It seemed that industry opinion was mixed on whether he could succeed as a big-league starter, which resulted in the lower-than-expected guarantee. Still, Imai’s track record of year-over-year improvement and relative youth were enough for the Astros to want him in their rotation.
More to come.
Surprises me.
Oh snap!
Congratulations Houston and fans! Excellent signing here! Expect an opt out after the season though.
Not if he sucks!
He’s goin’ suck, You sure? Doubt it. Delusional Yankee fans thought he was goin to the Bronx, when Uncle Hal said no!
Yankees did not even send a rep to talk to him let alone have interest. At 3/54 he got a 3rd of what dreamer Scott Boras was trying to get and Bellinger soon is going to find out the same.
Yeah, sorry it wasn’t the Angels, but Texas has more advantageous tax laws, and a better organization..
Shame on the Cubs, especially if this reported short term contract is accurate. :-(
They were never a player.
Man shut up hahaha
@sportingdissent- Yes, they never were. The Cubies unfortunately never spend $. (They gave up) Imai never wanted to go to Chicago anyway.
Captain, not saying youre wrong because I honestlyndon’t know, but what makes you say that he didnt want to Chicago
coop- he truly didn’t want to go to Chicago(probably too cold there, and too far from Japan) truly shocked he chose Houston. Actually devastated, but definitely happy for they’re knowledgeable fans. I wish Imai, my absolute best! My 2nd favorite team never wants to anti up the $ either. Let’s face it they are cheap. Why wasn’t Kyle Tucker resigned? That’s my point, my friend. Cursed liking Cubies! Lol
I agree, Aaron, Imai is a better pitcher than Imanaga and Senga and younger, too.
Bucket Number Six:
I don’t mean this in a rude or confrontational way, but how would you know?
He performed better in NPB than Senga and Imanaga when they were 26/27. Seems to have good stuff. Size may be a factor, but it hasn’t hurt Yamamoto.
@Bucket- Yeah we don’t really know that yet. Time will definitely tell.
People speculate but say it as if they know something. Thats what gets me – if these things were true, Passan would be writing about it for sure. I did n hear he didnt like New York.
He publicly stated that he wanted to go to a team that had no Japanese players on its roster. The Cubs don’t qualify for that
Just means Jed has to go the way I think he always wanted to go. Make a trade for a starting pitcher. Either that or he really is expecting Steele to come back soon and spot on. That seems risky to me. They certainly have the pieces to get one. I just hope one of them isn’t Wiggins. But Jed does seem to have a habit of pi–ing me off and trading the one guy I wouldn’t trade every year.
I don’t think he said that. I think it was more along the lines of whether or not a team had other Japanese players wasn’t a factor for him.
This just means the waiting game is over..i would expect some sorta signing or trade soon now that he is gone
And the Astros swoop in!!!
I think many teams thought he was a “questionable” #3,but as gambles go, I think the Astros did okay.
3/63
I guess at those terms the Mets were out because he’s not proven? Or they are too far from contention for him to entertain their offers?
Are they further than the Astros? They both seem like wild card teams to me.
Astros def seem closer than Mets especially if Yordan can stay healthy and a bounce back year from Walker.
ReyDay:
Come on that has nothing to do with this. It’s about money. This was obviously the best contract he could get.
And if Correa, McCullers, Javier can stay healthy and if Altuve doesn’t digress further at 36 and, and, and. Not the Astros of a few years ago.
The Astros were in it until the final week with a year that included most of their pitchers on the IL, Altuve and Walker playing like garbage etc. Considering all that there’s reason to believe the Astros are a very good team and will be fighting with the Mariners for the division all year
Not to mention Alvarez, Paredes and half the pitching staff were on the injured list
Go Astros!!!
Probably would have made it in if they didn’t trade Tucker.
ReyDay: If ifs buts were candy and nuts, the Astros might win a few games.
McCullers and staying healthy in the same sentence. Isn’t that an oxymoron?
goalieguy41: It’s certainly moronic enough, lol.
Kinda like how the Cubs went so far with Tucker? Astros got a haul for one year of Tucker.
I think health is the key factor for Houston. They fired their whole training staff because way too many guys were getting injured.
They went further and traded guys they didn’t need.
The Astros top two pitchers were healthy for the entire season. They had a couple of mid-to-back rotation guys who missed most of the season, but that’s pretty typical these days.
Seems like the Astros ‘bad luck’ last season was pretty typical for what every team suffers. Still should be a wild card contender once again.
@WCSoxFan If you do your research, you’ll find out that the Astros had an exceptional amount of key injuries. This website even wrote stories on it if you search for them (which may have contributed to firings on the Astros training staff)
@MuteButton
They had injuries. They weren’t exceptional (especially for the injured players!). If you have a case, then make it, otherwise the statement stands as you have failed to prove your point.
What about Parades injured ? Alvarez missing most of the season Altuve and Walker having horrible years? Take the top 2 hitters from any team and let’s see how far they go.
horaceallen:
I’m getting the impression that most teams in Major League Baseball do not necessarily see him as a high-end starting pitcher. I don’t think it’s anything to do with being far from contention. Besides, a few moves and they’re clearly a team in contention for a playoff spot.
Agree. The body size is an issue being only 154 lbs does not bode well for a full grind of a mlb season.
That seems obvious yes. There just aren’t that many guys at his size that have held up as a MLB starter. There are a few, but they’re freaks and Hall of Fame types. And his fastball is straight as a frozen rope.
Pedro Martinez listed at 170 in his heyday
Earlier this week, MLB Sirius/XM radio guys said they heard teams were worried because he has only one MLB-elite pitch (breaking ball), and that his fastball command (within the zone, not ball/strike control) was not that great. He profiles more as a reliever, a good one but without enough of a repertoire to be a top of rotation MLB starter.
@highfly. Were you listening to barstool sports. His fastball is one of the best, and his slider is a plus pitch. Never heard the reliever part, but people were saying Yamamoto was overrated and belongs in Mexico. people have posted multiple links. I heard from the rockies homer saying he 3’7 missing a leg now,because he got gang green on his flight to LA.
Horaceallen, how about it’s because Stearns is a #%^*+…?
You’ve never seen the guy pitch but you’re whining the Mets didn’t sign him 🤡🤡
There’s these things called scouting reports, statistics and the like
alproof: Or that you have no idea what you’re talking about?
Imai did say early on he wanted to go to a team with no other Japanese players. With Senga still a Met, that might have come into play. Don’t see any Japanese players listed on the Astros 2025 roster. Still had hopes for the Mets until now, but obviously not. Only one team can win him this year, and it’s the Astros.
If he signed for 3/54 Stearns was interested at 1/12. He lives in a fantasy land where players don’t want years or money.
Tell that to Soto.
And part of the real answer might be that he is being more cautious this year after getting burned last year.
Whoa
Two days ago Imai had no offers on the table. Crane is a funny dude. I thought he said there would be no money for anybody, but then he changed his mind again. I guess that’s what’s nice about having a single owner as a decision maker. But that also has its downsides.
Didn’t see that one coming.
Same I had him going to the tigers..
I doubt many picked the Stros!
Nope, pretty much nobody
Better than signing with the dodgers ..
They’ll wait until he proves himself. Then it’s off to the west coast where he is closer to home and dodgers it will be.
and its smart by LAD to wait on a 145 lb pitcher, MLB doesn’t have too many of those, no one knows how his stuff will play. he’s tiny compared to Tim Hudson
Davey J. 2.0 – the next generation, I mean Yamamoto is the same height, although he weights 20-25 pounds more
Lol, “closer to home.” I’m sure he’ll tolerate an extra 90 min on a private jet if he needs to
Tell me about it. These guys don’t care how close to home they are. They care about the money.
Spot on. You’re living in a hotel the entire time you’re playing then going back to Japan after the season. Why not play in the A/C in Texas and skip the taxes in NY or CA?
He can learn to cheat with the best of them now!
Wouldn’t the best at cheating be the teams that didn’t get caught?
Very good point.
9 years still living rent free in Wades tiny head
Yeah, was waiting for the first moronic cheating comment. They never disappoint here at MLBTR.
I don’t actually care I just think it is funny at this point. Cheating is kind of a part of the game since the old days. Tommy Lasorda was pretty funny about it in his autobiography.
The Dodgers are so rent free in some of your heads. Not once was it rumored that they were in on him.
There is nothing “free” about the Dodgers.
I’m glad he doesn’t want to be a ring chaser. Good for him for not wanting to sign with them.
“ring chaser”
yeah why bother to win?
Anyone who signs with the Dodgers from now til the end of Ohtani’s contract will be ring chasers. I’d rather be on the team that takes the Dodgers. So yes Imai would’ve been no different than his fellow countrymen or anyone else a ring chaser
lol.
They’re all money chasers. Just like we would be if we were playing major league baseball. If the Dodgers had offered more he’d be there.
Imai early on said he wanted to beat the Dodgers they were never invvoled.
Not expensive enough.
Wow, i’m surprised! Didn’t feel like their name was at the top of any lists to get him
Not sure why I still held out some hope as a Mets fan. That was dumb of me.
horaceallen:
We don’t even know if Imai is any good
Phillies come up short again in the Asian market again. Not surprised
You really want a 145 lb pitcher?
He doesn’t have to run up the middle, homie. He just has to throw a ball. He’ll be fine. I mean, he might not pitch well but his weight won’t be the reason.
Let’s just stop pretending Imai was ever going to the Windy City. That being said. I’m extremely disappointed.
Pedro Martinez and Sandy Koufax weren’t huge guys either.
Koufax was 6’2″, 210 lbs
Koufax was out of baseball at age 30. Guess those 210 pounds didn’t really help his longevity.
Are you really as stupid as you appear to be?
Dumpster Dave thinks Nola and Walker are solid and painter is healthy enough to handle Rangers load. His wasteful spending and wishful thinking is about to blow up in his face.
Nola is solid and Painter will be fine. Walker was obviously a big mistake.
Ah ok
There’s a joke somewhere in there
The joke is the Phillies could not afford this guy
I meant the OP but I feel your pain
Ty my friend
About time. Very quiet off-season for the Astros. This is probably the best move they could’ve made. And it should be considered official, Framber Valdez is gone.
He was gone the minute he threw at his catcher because he was mad.
yuck D:
Yay
Boring. Good luck.
wow, cheap cheap cheap,
Really hard to understand why as ton of other teams didn’t offer him at least this much
He is too small
Maybe he’s just not as good as we keep
Being told, and scouts and FO folks see it.
Small doesn’t matter
That’s what she didn’t say.
aduncaroo44:
Isn’t it possible many of those other don’t think he’s anything special?
All that money for a 5’9″ 140 lb pitcher? Wow.
I mean Yamamoto is about that size
Imai is 5’11” 154 lbs
Yamamoto is 5’10” 176 lbs
But they didn’t buy by the pound.
Nah. Those extra 2-3 inches and 30 lb make a big difference. Imai is down in Lincecum territory, and Timmy was 5’ 11” and weighed more.
@seamaholic. Lincecum delivery was always a problem it was deemed violent on the arm, before he got drafted. Imai is more of a side slot angle, and shouldn’t be a risk. Either way three years isn’t bad especially if he opts out the Astros got someone to replace valdez.
Yeah, those big dudes last SO much longer. After two or three surgeries. Yeesh.
I pitched as lean as 165 entering college, and got up to 195. The biggest differences I can remember is that my legs/core felt much more stable at 195, with less stress on my leg upon landing. Also, recovery wise post start, my arm felt much better the next day and two days after, allowing me to begin preparing for my next start much more smoothly, and less sore.
Now he’s down to 140 pounds? He started out at 155 pounds in the comments. He’s been losing weight as the comments pileup.
this is a great move by the Astros. not a fan of them but this makes a lot of sense for them.
Astros are known for being at the cutting edge of pitching development. I wonder how much of a role that played in this
what played the largest role was likely the opt outs after each year.
I’m sure. Just wondering if the pitching development played a factor as well
His market collapsed as well. I don’t know if there’s less money available than people thought this off-season, or this class of Japanese imports is just seen as deeply flawed, but it’s pretty obvious the big spenders didn’t see him as a top shelf starter. Likely due to his size.
Also, how much are the Blue Jays ticked at having misread the market and overpaying Cease so early.
Probably not mad unless he sucks next year
Probably the looming lockout
They didn’t overpay Cease. He got what he deserved, but some people can’t see much beyond ERAs.
There was talks of contract changes based around a potential lockout in 2027. Both Murakami and Imai now seem to have built those protections in.
Imai got an opt out after every season
Yeah. Both him and Murakami could go back to NPB next year if MLB locks out. Other MLB players wouldn’t be able to due to limits on foreign born players there.
Interesting point!
Not surprised only three years, saw that coming.
Astros a bit of a surprise.
Surprise surprise surprise. Opt our opt put opt out. Actually the opt outs aren’t too surprising after his comments on the lack of big offers. But the team is a major surprise. I thought the Astros were pinching the pennies.
Er, I meant opt out opt out opt out. Bad typing.
The Astros came out of left field in this one. Nice fumble Jed.
Man, these clubs were really leery about him for Imai to have opt outs after every season.
That should loosen up the starting pitching market at least.
I ate a lot of fried food last night and it seems to have loosened some things up. Is Imai kind of like that?
Hey I’m trying to eat breakfast here
Ok that’s a left field team for sure, but congratulations to the Astros!
@Sal- just a great move for these Stro’s. I doubt Imai disappoints them..
You seem pretty confident Cap’n
私たちが知っている宇宙は、全体像のごく一部、ほんの一つのピクセルに過ぎない。今井氏が星々を征服するにあたり、彼に平安あれ。
もちろん! I wish Imai-san the best too! 明けましておめでとう, Happy New Year, Mahalo!
Well, pretty much a full cya Framber signing. Shocked the Orioles have not gone after Framber.
Giants fans swinging at the air right now. Literally one of the richest teams in baseball, amd will soon have the whole northern California market, yet acting like they’re the Marlins.
The Giants must not have seen him as an upgrade over internal options and what’s available on the FA market.
Not me. Pretty sure Posey knows a little about evaluating a pitching prospect.
Imai opinion he should have gone elsewhere
Imai house, in the middle of the street, I thought he was a cub.
👻 🌹
Seattle hitters are gonna tee off on this dude can’t wait!!!
Kinda like you’re waiting for that first World Series appearance? Keep hoping champ maybe one day
Surprise Surprise
Didn’t expect Houston. Be interesting to see how this plays out.
Imai was desperate. His posting expires tomorrow. He could do worse.
Well I was hoping it was going to be the Yanks. Good luck.
@Knicks- told you he was never coming to the Yankees all along. Sorry.
Hmmm, didn’t see this coming. At this price point, I am quite surprised the Padres weren’t the choice with his comments about “beating the Dodgers”. The pipeline of Japanese talent from the NPB to San Diego that Darvish was to be the face of, sure hasn’t worked out as well as planned.
The beating the Dodgers comment was apparently said jokingly.
some people can only grasp at straws Eli.
@El Kabong
Or maybe as instructed by his agent…
He knew the Dodgers don’t need him,
And a nice ploy in trying to target SFG who needed SPs. Oh look it’s Timmy 2 !
Nice try Scotty.
@oldgfan
It’ll be interesting to see how many years Okamoto gets.
Nobody was complaining about his size as you were egging your team on to sign him. Go ahead and make ip a narrative to justify your team getting him.
As for astros, sneaky good pickup. Doesnt need to be an ace, just need to take the ball every 5th day. Now we have some depth and dont have to overrely on mccullers.
Agree
Tim Lincecum was not that big.had a great career
Only really dominant for about 5 years tho.
The vast majority of MLB players aren’t dominant for 5 days, let alone five years.
Bobby Shantz (local to me) was excellent at 5’7″ 145. Of course, that was a long time ago. Mr. Shantz is now 100 years old.
So it’s official. Yankees are waving the White Flag and are now in rebuilding mode. Had been holding out hope that NYY would pull the trigger. Not feeling good about getting Belligner or Tucker either. Even sadder, I’d be elated if they made some middling signings of players like Hays and Bassitt at this point. Somebody, anybody to keep them away from the fourth place finish they seem resigned to.
Come down from the edge of the building it’s okay. It’s just sports nothing to be so emotional amount. Here’s a cookie feel better now ?
Wow, really clever. Are you playing all week? Where do I get tickets?
Not on the edge of the building that’s for sure. Hey don’t blame me for poking at the crybaby learn to not be so attached. When the Yankees win what do you win? NOTHING
Happy New Year to you too, keyboard bully.
Who’s a bully? You were crying about the Yankees so I made a joke about it. It’s still early in the day you can still be happy today. Happy new year to you, learn to not let sports dictate so much of your life and you’ll be much happier
Rudy don’t lose faith yet…if Spring Training gets here and you don’t see Cody or a Cody replacement and you don’t see a new starting pitcher, then feel free to lament at that time. Yanks will be fine.
Lions and tigers and bears, Imai! I didn’t see this coming.
The cubs are an organization that doesn’t care about fans or winning it’s all about deception with fans .The bottom line is the most important thing is bottom until Hoyer is gone and the sell in done with this crappy organization !!!
Teams coming out of left field are 2-0 in the Japanese market so far
Let’s see the A’s sign Okamoto
The shock of the year!!!
Smallish…Lincecum body. Even has the hair.
2 yr for murakami
3 for imai
The reality did not meet the incredible expectations
Tms aint so hi on these japanese stars anymore
Thanks to senga & yoshida, etc
What an idiotic comment. That’s like saying teams in the 50s shouldn’t go after black players because John Kennedy of the Phillies was a bust.
Not surprised that he signed with a dark horse candidate, or that the contract was my h less than some expected. The opt outs are understandable as he is betting on himself, but there was no way Anthopoulos would sign a contract with opt outs, especially not three consecutive ones.
Good luck to him and the Astros
Absolutely moronic to include the opt outs. You’re basically showing him off for the rest of the league, lose-lose scenario. If he sucks, he stays there. If he’s good, he leaves. So you basically just get one year locked in which is a wild card. There are a few rare situations in which an opt-out can make sense, if the team has prospects on the way but wants a premium player who can be a stopgap, but rarely do they work out favorably.
Replacing Valdez with Imai on THIS deal looks really dicey, at first glance.
Man, the “experts” really overestimated how much the NPB players would get, huh? What happened?
Perfect price for the Phillies, But as every Phillies fan knows, DD takes off during the holidays. He gets his business done quickly and enjoys his life the rest of December. He will sign retreads and bums for the remainder.
Better than anything the Phillies have after Sanchez and luzardo but dumpster Dave has nothing left to spend.
I thought Imai was holding up the SP market. This contract and destination makes me wonder if that’s the case, after all.
Imai Day!
I’m guessing this closes door on framber if it wasnt already.
As a Giants fan, this is disgusting to me. Team claimed they wouldn’t spend $300 million for a pitcher (supposedly like Imai), but more than happy to sign a broken down 31 yr old Tyler Mahle.
No one wanted him or he really wanted Houston.
Well, the “trend” is Japanese stars cheating. Maybe he just bet on the team that allows it!
No one in top 25 on leaderboard had this one.
Incentives at 100 innings seems like a low enough bar to reach.
T Rex!!
Ug, at that price Pirates should have offered 10m more and traded a another pitcher or two to fill offensive holes.
(edit: maybe they did and it has not been reported)
Wow! Surprised it’s only 3/56 + posting fee. Thats an amazing signing by the Stros.
The price is right, it looks like a fantastic deal.
While there have always been starters in MLB with smaller statures, the trend in the last decade or two has been for taller and bigger pitchers–am wondering if that affected his offers??-would love to be a fly on the wall and learn what some of the other offers he had were—its very possible that the Astros offer was the best for Imai, both in terms of dollars and contract?
Jed Hoyer 0-71 in attracting impact free agents
And just like the last four Japanese superstars came here now the Phillies can say “well we tried. “.
One bonus out of this for Houston:
If Imai in pitches well and opts-out after year 1, they can place a qualifying offer on him which would restrict his market and provide draft pick compensation. So the contract upside is slightly higher than it appears.
If he opts out after year 1 doesn’t he go into pre arbitration or is it just an opt out to go back over seas?
I thought there was something about this in the CBA?
As he’s at/over the age of 25 and has already completed the prerequisite amount of playing time (6 years) in a recognized foreign league, he doesn’t qualify for pre-arb or arb team control and would become a free agent after his contract expires.
That’s it? Dombrowski wth man.
Brown, Imai, Burrows. How will the Astros fill out their rotation beyond those three?
I know it was just a qualifying offer, but Grisham at $22 million by Cashman was by far the worst move this offseason
If he opts out after year 1 doesn’t he go into pre arbitration or is it just an opt out to go back over seas?
I thought there was something about this in the CBA?
Or maybe he is too old for that???
He is a FA not a prospect under 25 years old.
Free Agent
At least the reports of not much interest were accurate.
He is AI
Strike coming in 2027 and he has opt outs and can simply go back to Japan until the mess is resolved. Houston has its stadium naming rights owned by a Japanese company and those of us who live here know its diversity and Houstons hospitality offers him a team that feels small market but plays top level ball most seasons. Its a win for both sides.
This is the reason why players will never agree on a dead line to signed FA.
All leverage goes to the teams.
I am almost shocked at how low the contract is, and if he is even better than average, it’s a win for the Stros. Shocked even more that other teams didn’t beat that price range.
The 3 opt outs limit Houston’s upside immensely
Seems true to Imai’s desire to topple Ohtani’s Dodgers, by going to qn A.L. perennial contender. I thought possibly SF, but this puts him in a stro get position- in the A.L West Good move Houston if they’re going to contend with Seattle.
Hal sell this damn team! Omg ….
5’11” and 154lbs is a hard pass. Unless it’s Pedro Martinez.
Muscle mass will be easy for a US team to add
Opt out after each year is crazy.
Creí q no firmarían a nadie los Astros.
God knows why Stearns didn’t want him at this price. Can’t understand it.
It’s great when a guy signs like this and NO REPORTER has the signing team on their radar.
There’s those GD “opt outs” again. How’s a team supposed to have any continuity /fluidity when the player can just leave at the end of the season. A GM, I’d imagine, likes to have a 3-4 year plan and when the guy opts out, there goes the plan. I hate opt-outs. Jmo.
Beyond that, good signing.
Tatsuya Imai is small.
How small is he?
He’s so small that his bobblehead will be the size of a Pez dispenser.
This guy is gonna get torched by Dodger fans. He already didn’t want to play for them and now he chooses the Astros.