Houston Astros right-hander Tatsuya Imai is dealing with arm fatigue, which he believes may be partly due to his struggles adapting to his new surroundings.
"He's not able to adjust to the American lifestyle," Imai said through an interpreter, according to The Athletic's Chandler Rome. "Baseball and outside of baseball. That's probably the reason (for his arm fatigue)."
Imai left his most recent start against the Seattle Mariners on Friday after walking four and allowing three earned runs in 1/3 of an inning. He underwent imaging following the outing, and manager Joe Espada said that the tests revealed no problems.
Espada added that Imai won't resume throwing until his arm strength improves. In the meantime, Imai acknowledged that he has other issues to figure out.
"For example, the travel is different from Japan,” Imai explained through his interpreter. "The timing when the players eat. In Japan, when they get back to the hotel, they eat their dinner. Here, the players eat at the stadium.
"He thought it would be the same as in Japan, for example, eating dinner at the hotel. He thinks, even though he's on the IL right now, he thinks it's a positive thing to try and adjust and try to become better."
Imai signed a three-year, $54-million contract with the Astros in the offseason.
