Hunter Brown’s first bullpen session went well in his recovery from his shoulder strain, Joe Espada said: “Hunter is very anxious to get back on the mound. He is constantly texting, calling, ‘What’s next? What’s next?’ So he’s doing well.”
The Astros welcome back Tatsuya Imai following a one-month absence due to arm fatigue.
The Houston Astros will welcome back one of their injured starters ahead of their second game of a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners. Right-hander Tatsuya Imai is listed as the probable starter for May 12 on the Astros’ website.
Getting Imai back is great news for Houston, whose roster has been decimated by injuries in 2026. In addition to Imai, the Astros have been without Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier for much of the season. In fact, the club has utilized 12 different starters already this season, with left-handed reliever Steven Okert serving as an opener for one game.
Unfortunately for the Astros, their patchwork rotation has been anything but effective. The unit is 29th in ERA (5.11) and 24th in expected ERA (4.58) entering play on May 11. As a result, the Astros are tied with the Los Angeles Angels for last place in the American League West at 16-26.
With the club set to lose its ace, Framber Valdez, the club inked the Japanese hurler to a three-year, $54 million contract. Imai made three starts, going 1-0 with a 7.27 ERA over 8.2 innings.
It’s been a struggle for the right-hander to adjust to life in America, both in and out of baseball. Imai revealed as such to reporters, including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, back in April. He’s struggled with control issues, with only 111 of his 205 pitches going for strikes.
His start against the Mariners was a truly concerning outing for the club. Imai only recorded one out and completely lost any control of his pitches. The right-hander walked four and hit a batter. Only 17 of his 37 pitches were strikes. Three days later, he ended up on the injured list.
The good news for the Astros and Imai was that imaging came back clean. The right-hander made a pair of rehab starts, one with Double-A Corpus Christi and the other with Triple-A Sugar Land. There were still more concerns about his ability to command his pitches, with eight walks in five innings.
Despite those issues, it appears that Imai will join a decimated Astros rotation. Manager Joe Espada informed reporters, including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, that the right-hander will pitch for Houston next time out. Chandler Rome of The Athletic later reported that Imai would start on May 12 against the Mariners.
The Astros could employ a six-man rotation once Imai returns.
Brown has been out since March 31 with a shoulder strain, but made a key step in his rehab. Kawahara reported on May 8 that the right-hander threw his first bullpen session since the injury.
Hunter Brown’s first bullpen session went well in his recovery from his shoulder strain, Joe Espada said: “Hunter is very anxious to get back on the mound. He is constantly texting, calling, ‘What’s next? What’s next?’ So he’s doing well.”
Despite the session going reportedly well, the Astros transferred their Opening Day starter to the 60-day injured list on May 9. That was to free up a 40-man roster spot when they claimed outfielder Rhylan Thomas off waivers. With a backdate of April 2, the earliest the right-hander can be activated is June 1.
Given that Brown will need time to ramp up his workload, it will still be a while before he can be activated from the injured list. Assuming no further setbacks, it could be at least a month before he’s on the mound again for Houston.
Michael McDermott Michael McDermott covers MLB for Heavy Sports. He's previously published content for SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, and FanSided in 11 seasons. More about Michael McDermott
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