Latest marquee free agent signing gives Guardians even less margin for error in 2026

On Thursday, we finally got some closure on Tatsuya Imai’s free agency when the star Japanese pitcher signed a three-year, $63 million contract with the Houston Astros. The deal has an opt-out after every season according to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome and Cody Stavenhagen.

While Iami signing with the Astros won’t impact the Guardians as much as if he’d signed with the White Sox, his signing is just another example of a stud joining the American League after spending the 2025 season elsewhere. 

The Guardians could run into Tatsuya Imai and the Astros in the postseason 

Although Iami is a marquee talent who will make $18 million next season (the third-highest AAV given to a Japanese-born pitcher), his contract is still a bit lower than the 100+ million figure that he was projected to get. 

Iami going to Astros is a bit of a surprise as well given they weren't reported as one of his top suitors (most reports linked him to the Cubs) and that the Astros’ last signing from the Japanese market was a three-year, $16.5 million deal to Kaz Matusi 2008.

The Astros have long been a thorn in the Guardians’ side — they ended Cleveland’s mid-2010s contention window with a dominant ALDS sweep in 2018 — but they missed the postseason last year after finishing the season with a record of 87-75. 

They already added to their rotation this offseason by trading for Mike Burrows from the Pirates and signing Ryan Weiss, but their signing of Iami is on another level. 

He finished last season with a 1.92 ERA in 163 2/3 innings for the Seibu Lions in Nippon Professional Baseball, and has recorded a 2.21 ERA since the start of 2022. 

But there were still some concerns about how his stuff would play in MLB, which likely played a role in him having to settle for a shorter contract with more opt-outs. The same kind of thing happened to Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, who had to settle for a two-year deal with the White Sox after being projected to get a much bigger deal. 

While Iami himself won’t help push the Astros to an American League West title, they’re in a much better spot now given the Rangers may take a step back after trading Marcus Semien and the Mariners have been quiet aside from signing Josh Naylor. 

Meanwhile, the Guardians’ free agency spending has been limited to $7.9 million on a variety of relievers. 

The Guardians clearly weren’t suitors for Iami thanks to his price tag and their full rotation, but having him end up in the American League is a bit frustrating.