Houston Astros owner Jim Crane was less than 20 seconds into his introduction of free agent pitcher Tatsuya Imai on Monday when he turned to the front row to thank a sponsor.
“One of the things that made this possible, is with our great partners in the front row,” Crane said. He then asked Takayuki Inoue, the chief marketing officer of Daikin, to stand up. “Thank you, sir.”
Daikin, a Japanese HVAC company, is entering the second year of a 15-year naming rights deal with the Astros stadium that will pay the team more than $140 million, according to someone familiar with the terms. For most MLB teams, naming rights are the most valuable corporate asset they can sell. In the case of the Astros, the team may have received something more valuable than money—an assist in making the first major free-agent splash of 2026.
Imai has agreed to a three-year deal worth a reported $54 million, making him the team’s highest-paid starting pitcher. He’s also the first player that the Astros have ever signed directly out of Asia.
Of course, the Imai signing works well for Daikin, too. While it’s unclear exactly what Inoue’s role was in the free agent process—a rep for the company didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry—there are obvious benefits for a Japanese company to have a Japanese star playing in the venue that bears its name. Daikin was mentioned multiple times, by multiple people, during Monday’s press conference, and Inoue reportedly took part in the official photos with Imai afterwards—all things that likely delight a high-paying partner.
The Daikin Park partnership, announced in November 2024, appears to have helped shift the team’s entire approach in Asia. Crane spoke Monday about his team’s scouting presence in Tokyo, Seoul and Taiwan, all of which are recent developments. According to The Athletic, Crane and some other Astros executives recently toured the Daikin headquarters and manufacturing plants, and some local baseball stadiums.
“We’ll be moving pretty fast in Asia,” Crane said Monday.
Crane’s non-Astros businesses have been critical here as well. His freight and supply chain company, Crane Worldwide Logistics, had a pre-existing relationship with Daikin. He said Monday that the team’s scouting apparatus across Asia was able to “set up quickly” by working out of Crane offices.
Everyone in MLB is currently chasing the Los Angeles Dodgers, in more ways than one. The two-time World Series champs make more money than anyone else in the sport, spend among the most, and have built a balanced roster of homegrown talent and free-agent signings. Some of the biggest examples of the latter have come via Japan. Shohei Ohtani gets the most attention, of course, but the team’s postseason run was also fueled by pitchers Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the World Series MVP.
On a recent episode of the Sporticast podcast, Dodgers president Stan Kasten told stories about the team’s pursuit of both Sasaki and Ohtani. He also discussed the impact that the team’s Asian presence has had on business. The Dodgers have more than a dozen Japanese sponsorships, including some newcomers in the past two years—All Nippon Airways, Daiso, Kosé, Kowa, Toyo Tires and Yakult—all part of a new corporate push that SponsorUnited estimated added $70 million in incremental sponsor revenue last year.
Crane, who said the Dodgers “led the way” in Asia, added Monday that he thought the Pacific Rim was an “untapped” until Ohtani.
“The players coming out of there are really equivalent or better than some of the guys we have here,” he said. “We’ll be laser-focused on it moving forward.”
With assistance from Kurt Badenhausen.
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Raphielle Johnson