Tatsuya Imai's Splitter Praised by Astros' Trammell, 'Never Seen a Pitch Like That'

Prized free-agent signing Tatsuya Imai is already making a big impression on his new Houston Astros teammates.

Speaking to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart on Friday during spring training, Astros outfielder Taylor Trammell commented on Imai's highly touted splitter, saying, "Be honest with you, I played this game for 24 years now and 11 professionally and I've never seen a pitch like that before in my life."

Imai signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Astros last month following a decorated career in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

The 27-year-old righty was a three-time All-Star over his eight NPB seasons, posting a 58-45 record with a 3.15 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 907 strikeouts over 963.2 innings pitched.

While not nearly as highly touted as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024, Imai signed the fifth-biggest contract in terms of total dollars among starting pitchers this offseason.

Imai is in line to serve as a replacement for Framber Valdez in the Astros' starting rotation after Valdez signed a three-year, $115 million deal with the Detroit Tigers.

Although 2025 All-Star Hunter Brown is the Astros' unquestioned ace, Imai could slot in behind him as the No. 2 starter depending on how manager Joe Espada views him in relation to Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr., Mike Burrows and others.

Houston is coming off its worst season in years, as it finished 87-75 in 2025 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Over the course of eight consecutive postseason appearances from 2017 to 2024, the Astros reached the World Series four times and won it twice.

If the Astros are going to return to that level of contention, they will likely need Imai to step up and immediately establish himself as a top-of-the-rotation starter.

Should his splitter prove to be as devastating as Trammell said it was on Friday, that could be a realistic scenario for Imai and the Astros.