Tatsuya Imai's next start for Houston Astros uncertain after another abbreviated outing

Monday's outing in Anaheim was the fifth time in 15 starts that Tatsuya Imai worked fewer than three innings. (Ross Turteltaub/Getty Images)

ANAHEIM, Calif. - When Tatsuya Imai will pitch next for the Houston Astros is unsettled, manager Joe Espada indicated Tuesday, a day after Imai failed to complete one inning of a start against the Angels.

Imai recorded two outs, issued four walks and threw 12 of 33 pitches for strikes before being removed from Monday's game at Angel Stadium . It was the fifth time in 15 starts in his rookie season Imai has completed fewer than three innings and left the right-hander with a 5.83 ERA.

The Astros met with Imai on Tuesday to discuss adjustments to work on before his next outing, Espada said, but they "did not specifically give him a timetable of when he's going to be on the mound again."

"We talked about a couple things that we saw during the game, gave him a few ideas of how to prepare, make some adjustments for his next outing," Espada said. "We did not discuss any plans for his next turn in the rotation. We just talked about some general stuff that we saw."

Espada said "conversations do happen" about whether working on changes at a different level would be helpful but indicated that Imai, who is making $18 million this season , will remain on the Astros' major-league roster.

"I think Imai has shown that he belongs at the major-league level, and the ups and downs, we've been able to kind of work through them here at this level," Espada said. "So I don't think that's necessary for him to work anything out in the minor leagues."

After an off day Thursday, the Astros will play a critical series against the AL West-leading Rangers. Imai's turn in the rotation would come up in Sunday's finale. Espada said the Astros have not plotted out their full rotation for that series.

The Astros will activate Hayden Wesneski to start Wednesday's series finale against the Angels, Espada said. Wesneski will assume the rotation spot opened by Spencer Arrighetti going on the injured list due to right foot nerve irritation.

Imai's up-and-down first MLB season has tended toward extremes. Imai has thrown five quality starts and four in which he threw at least 5 ⅔ innings and allowed one or fewer runs. He has also failed to complete the first inning three times, and he did not escape the second inning in another outing.

The latter type of start places an undue workload on Houston's bullpen. Monday, three relievers combined to throw 8 ⅓ innings, with Cristian Javier contributing five scoreless in a 6-4 win.

In the meeting with Imai, Espada said Astros staff went over "a couple of things that we noticed" in his start Monday including his landing position on the mound and direction. Espada suggested the belief is Imai's command issues, when they arise, are rooted in mechanics.

"His direction, sometimes it affects his release point, his extension, consistency to repeat his delivery," Espada said. "I think that's what we've seen the most."

In his 58 ⅔ innings, Imai has struck out 72 batters and walked 40. His 43.4% in-zone rate is about 5% below league average this season, per Baseball Savant, and he has also induced below-average chase and swing rates.

Imai's inconsistency invites question about his rotation spot with the Astros, who entered Tuesday two games back of first place in the AL West and 1 ½ games out of a wild-card spot. Asked if Imai could be available in a relief capacity in coming days, Espada left that unclear.

"Right now, we are in good shape for the next two games," Espada said. "After the off-day we'll sit down and we'll map things out moving forward for the Rangers and Blue Jays series."

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