Tatsuya Imai will not opt out of the two years left on his deal with the Astros, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports.

Imai didn’t seem to enjoy his first year in MLB, but changing his situation by either returning to Japan or trying to find another MLB team would have cost him. He’s guaranteed $18 million each of the next two years, and he’ll again have the opportunity to opt out next winter. Imai ended up 6-4 with a 4.93 ERA and a 97/51 K/BB in 76 2/3 innings over 15 starts and eight relief appearances last season. His 2027 salary would have increased by $2 million if he topped 80 innings, which is part of why the Astros barely used him down the stretch.