Dodgers Ohtani and Yankees Judge recipients of MLB MVP awards
Baseball’s MVPs have been decided. Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani wins the National League award, while Yankees’ Aaron Judge takes home the title again for the American League.
The best Japanese starting pitcher on the market is no longer available.
Free agent right-hander Tatsuya Imai and the Houston Astros have agreed on a three-year contract with opt outs that could be worth up to $63 million, multiple news outlets reported on Thursday, Jan. 1.
The agreement comes one day before Imai’s 45-day window to sign with an MLB team was set to expire on Friday, Jan. 2.
The deal includes $54 million guaranteed and will pay the former Nippon Professional Baseball star $18 million a year with $3 million in performance bonuses that could make the total $21 million per year, MLB reporter Jon Heyman reported.
Imai had longer-term deals with a lower annual salary on the table, according to MLB.com, but chose to go to Houston on a shorter-term deal with a higher average annual value and opt outs. The 27-year-old was 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA, 178 strikeouts and 45 walks in 163â…” innings with the Seibu Lions in 2025. He went 58-45 with a 3.15 ERA in eight seasons with Seibu, with 907 strikeouts in 963â…” innings.
Imai’s agent, Scott Boras, recently compared him to 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, $325-million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2024 season.