Tatsuya Imai joins Astros while the Reds watch their rival strike out again

Throughout the Cincinnati Reds entire history, the franchise has only signed one Japanese-born player — Shogo Akiyama — and the results were underwhelming to say the least. Akiyama never adapted to playing in the big leagues, took on the role of a utility outfielder, and became a roster casualty after just two years in Cincinnati.

It should come as no surprise then that the Reds were not part of the contract negotiations for Japanese pitching sensation Tatsuya Imai. While Imai has all the tools to be a frontline starter in the big leagues, Cincinnati has more starting depth than they know what do with, and weren't about to get into a bidding war for a redundant roster piece when they have much bigger holes to fill.

On Thursday, Imai agreed to a three-year, $63 million deal with the Houston Astros, spurning offers from other would-be contenders. One of the teams who whiffed in the Imai sweepstakes was the Reds' bitter NL Central rival, the Chicago Cubs. The North Siders were quite high on Imai, and were among the finalists for his services. In the end, however, he chose the Astros, meaning the Cubs will have to go back to the drawing board once again this winter.

Tatsuya Imai joins Astros while the Reds watch the Cubs miss again

The Cubs coming up short has been a constant theme this offseason. Chicago lost Kyle Tucker to free agency — and aren't expected to re-sign him — and inadvertently retained Shota Imanaga. The Cubs' starter opted out of contract, but surprisingly agreed to a qualifying offer and will cost Chicago $22 million next season.

The Cubs have been searching for top-tier pitching all offseason. Chicago came up short in their pursuit of Dylan Cease after he signed a seven-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Michael King was known to be on their radar this winter as well, but he returned to the San Diego Padres on a three-year, $75 million deal.

After missing on Imai, the Cubs are expected to quickly turn their attention to former Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen. Unfortunately, Gallen endured a horrendous season in 2025, and many experts wonder if he's in line for a bounce-back in 2026 or will continue to regress.

So while Reds fans sit back and bemoan their team's lack of offseason moves, Imai's agreement with the Astros is a reminder that Cincinnati isn't the only NL Central team striking out this winter. Oddly enough, the one team in the division that's actually made some plausible upgrades this offseason has been the Pittsburgh Pirates. Who'd have guessed that?