New Chicago Cubs pitcher Shōta Imanaga, aka ‘The Throwing Philosopher,’ isn’t satisfied despite his success in Japan

In his first official moments with the Chicago Cubs, Japanese left-hander Shōta Imanaga already knew how to play the hits.

“Hey, Chicago, what do you say?” Imanaga said in English. “The Cubs are going to win today. ... Go Cubs Go!”

Imanaga had already spent nearly three weeks in Chicago by the time the team introduced him Friday afternoon at the Lowes Hotel ahead of Cubs Convention festivities. While staying in the city, he researched the Cubs, the franchise’s history and transitions. When a four-year deal was reached with the Cubs, he wanted to wear No. 18 in honor of 2016 World Series MVP Ben Zobrist.

“I want to be the player that he was too,” Imanaga said through interpreter Shingo Murata. “The 2016 World Series championship left a big impression on me. The images of the parade with millions and millions of people — and obviously Ben Zobrist is an excellent player. He played a lot of roles, did whatever it takes to help the team win.”

Imanaga has known new teammate Seiya Suzuki since their playing days together in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, though he did not talk to the outfielder about the Cubs before deciding to sign with the organization. Imanaga has since reached out to Suzuki, who was “excited and showed happiness as if it was happening to see himself and that really excites me.” Former Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish was among the players Imanaga used as a resource during the posting process. Darvish provided insight into what he emphasized when he signed out of Japan.

Imanaga wanted to join an organization where he, along with the team, can continue to get better and grow. He felt the Cubs were a really good match.

“I want to be an adaptable pitcher,” Imanaga said. “Sometimes the situation might call for me to pound the zone with the fastball. Sometimes the situation might call for a lot of breaking balls, but I don’t want to be one style.”

Known as “The Throwing Philosopher” in Japan, Imanaga is not satisfied with his success in Japan or where he is at as a pitcher. Both sides believe the lefty still can reach another level as a pitcher, even as he transitions to a new country and league.

“I am by no means a finished product and there’s a lot for me to learn and there’s a lot for me to study day in and day out,” Imanaga said. “I believe that my approach in that way somehow earned me the nickname.”

Manager Craig Counsell is excited by what Imanaga has accomplished in Japan, where the 30-year-old led the league in strikeouts last year while posting a 2.80 ERA. In the WBC, he started Japan’s 3-2 championship game win over the United States.

“His skill level is going to allow him to make the necessary adjustments because he’s so skilled, right? And that’s what’s going to help him do that,” Counsell said Friday. “He can pitch like he’s pitching and be fine, but you know he’s going to want to do things and tweak things and learn from the league, and the skill level is going to allow him to do that.”

One of the biggest adjustments Imanaga faces is pitching every fifth day, which comes with one less day of rest compared to his schedule in Japan. He describes the change as a novel experience and wants to keep an open mind while seeking advice from the coaching staff and teammates during spring training to figure out how to best approach the five-day schedule.

Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy pointed to off days, especially early in the schedule, and looking for ways to be creative can help both Imanaga and the rest of the rotation with added rest.

“We can find pockets and be able to get on a six-day rotation or utilize that and be creative about how we use the roster, it’s only going to benefit our guys down the stretch,” Hottovy told the Tribune on Friday. “We saw not only the starters run out of gas and the relievers run out of gas (last year). Obviously I don’t want to speak for Craig and the organization, but from my end it’s finding creative ways to give guys extra days when we can and still trust the guys that we have to win games and big moments.”

The Cubs want to help Imanaga get comfortable in his transition and find a good routine. Hottovy is looking forward to getting eyes and data on Imanaga in bullpens to understand how his stuff is going to play when using a major-league ball. Imanaga provided a glimpse of his nasty stuff and effectiveness when throwing during the World Baseball Classic last spring.

“Is it moving similar or are there differences compared to what he’s done in the past? Because we want him to err on what he does really well,” Hottovy said. “We also want to make sure that those pitches are staying consistent to what he’s used in the past. Giving him the foundation of, like, this is what I’m going to do, this is my core and then we can figure out the other pieces we want to work on and continue to grow and get better. It’s always a process and there’s never ever right or wrong way to go about it.”

The Cubs aren’t done. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acknowledged improvements to the roster still remain, saying Friday, “We’re certainly not done with our offseason by any stretch.”

That focus includes the bullpen, depth and ideally finding more offense that produce against right-handers. Landing Imanaga likely completes the Cubs’ rotation options heading into spring training. If they do acquire another starting pitcher, it could be a smaller acquisition that addresses depth.

“Something could fall in our lap, we could end up with something, but that’s not my expectation,” Hoyer said.