Japanese free agent Shota Imanaga joins Cubs on complicated 4-year, $53 million deal
The Cubs finally made a move this offseason, adding the left-hander who led Team Japan to WBC victory
Japanese free agent Shota Imanaga has agreed to join the Chicago Cubs, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman and USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
The deal is apparently a weird one. It is for four years and $53 million, but the Cubs will have the option of converting it to five years and $80 million after two years, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers. If they don't, Imanaga has the right to declare free agency. That situation will recur after the third season if neither side makes a move.
Imanaga's Japanese team, the Yokohama DeNA Baystars, will also be entitled to a posting fee.
In most years, Imanaga would've been considered the big name coming out of Asia, but he'll arrive in MLB as part of a wave of talent from Japan and South Korea. This offseason has seen deals for Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($325 million, Los Angeles Dodgers), Jung Hoo Lee ($115 million, San Francisco Giants), Yuki Matsui (San Diego Padres, $28 million) and Woo Suk Go (Padres, $4.5 million).
Imanaga doesn't have Yamamoto's arsenal of pitches or bulging trophy case, but the 30-year-old has enough going for him that he still had plenty of suitors in a pitching-starved free-agent market.
Shota Imanaga showed some great stuff in 2023, starting with the World Baseball Classic
A pitcher in the mold of a power lefty, Imanaga is a two-time NPB All-Star and is coming off a season in which he posted a 2.66 ERA, a 1.016 WHIP and 188 strikeouts in 159 innings, earning him the Central League strikeout title.
Many American baseball fans saw Imanaga as the starting pitcher for Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship. Against a lineup headlined by Mookie Betts, Mike Trout and Nolan Arenado, Imanaga allowed four hits and one run in two innings of work, earning the win in a thrilling, 3-2 Japan victory.
That WBC appearance might've helped Imanaga make his case to MLB teams this offseason, as the Statcast numbers presented a player whose stuff should hold up in MLB, starting with a fastball that averaged 94.4 mph. Imanaga's 2,566-rpm spin rate on his fastball would've ranked ninth in MLB among pitchers who threw at least 1,000 pitches last season.
Backing that fastball are a slider, splitter and curveball that were all nasty enough to give Imanaga the best Stuff+ in a tournament that included Yamamoto, Sandy Alcantara and Shohei Ohtani.
Cubs finally make a move
For a team trying to morph into a contender, the Cubs took their sweet time making a free-agency move outside of poaching manager Craig Counsell from the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers.
Before Imanaga, the Cubs were joined by the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins as the only teams that had not signed a player to a fully guaranteed MLB deal this winter, though the Yankees did trade for Juan Soto.
In Chicago, Imanaga adds a quality option to a rotation headlined by Justin Steele and Kyle Hendricks, but a few more moves need to be made before the Cubs can enter the 2024 season with the confidence of a contender. The top priority should remain Cody Bellinger, who is reportedly seeking a nine-figure deal after his resurgent 2023 season. The corner infield spots also remain as potential needs.
