{"id":507140,"date":"2026-01-06T00:34:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T00:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/507140\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T00:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T00:34:15","slug":"the-two-aces-behind-tatsuya-imais-choice-to-wear-no-45","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/507140\/","title":{"rendered":"The two aces behind Tatsuya Imai’s choice to wear No. 45"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Houston Astros<\/a> officially introduced the newest piece of their rotation on Monday, a moment that offered insight beyond contract details. Tatsuya Imai revealed the personal significance behind his decision to wear No. 45, a choice tied to two of the game\u2019s most respected power pitchers.<\/p>\n

Houston signed Imai<\/a> to stabilize a rotation reshaped by offseason turnover amid growing organizational uncertainty. The right-hander arrives after a dominant final season in Japan, and his transition to the majors carries both performance expectations and symbolic weight. Choosing a new jersey number represents one of the first visible steps in that transition.<\/p>\n

During his introductory availability, the highly-touted international prospect explained that No. 45 reflects his admiration for two aces who helped shape his approach on the mound \u2014 influences that predated his move to the Astros.<\/p>\n

The Athletic\u2019s Chandler Rome shared Imai\u2019s explanation on X (formerly known as Twitter), detailing why the digits held<\/a> such meaning to the right-handed pitcher.<\/p>\n

\u201cTatsuya Imai said he chose No. 45, in part, because Gerrit Cole<\/a> and Zack Wheeler<\/a> are pitchers he looks up to and both of them wear 45.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cole and Wheeler represent durability, command, and power \u2014 traits Imai hopes to bring with him at the major league level. The decision also marks a change from the No. 48 he wore overseas, signaling a fresh chapter with Houston.<\/p>\n

On the field, Imai projects as an immediate contributor<\/a>. He posted a 1.92 ERA with 178 strikeouts across 163.2 innings in 2025, pairing bat-missing stuff with improved control. That combination made him one of the most coveted international arms available.<\/p>\n

Houston\u2019s front office structured the deal with flexibility, giving both sides room to evaluate the fit while maximizing upside. For the 27-year-old pitcher, wearing No. 45 connects past inspiration with present opportunity.<\/p>\n

As the Astros prepare for the season, the number on Imai\u2019s back represents more than preference \u2014 it reflects the standard he intends to meet as he steps into a rotation searching for reliability and leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Houston Astros officially introduced the newest piece of their rotation on Monday, a moment that offered insight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2389],"tags":[42,5,2281,139,54,3211,4,2046,4658,117],"class_list":{"0":"post-507140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-astros","8":"tag-astros","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-gerrit-cole","11":"tag-houston","12":"tag-houston-astros","13":"tag-houstonastros","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-mlb-free-agency","16":"tag-tatsuya-imai","17":"tag-zack-wheeler"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115845350265335323","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}