Japanese star Shota Imanaga will reportedly begin his MLB career with the Chicago Cubs.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the left-handed pitcher has agreed to a contract with the National League Central team.
MLB Network’s John Morosi reported that it will be a multi-year contract with an average annual salary in the $15 million range.
Previously, the Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Angels were also considered as candidates to sign him.
However, Heyman reported Tuesday that the Giants and Angels are out.
Imanaga played the past eight seasons for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball.
The 30-year-old was one of the best pitchers in the league during this time.
He appeared in 165 games, posting 1,021 strikeouts and a 3.
18 ERA in 1,002.
2 innings.
The 2023 season was probably the best of Imanaga’s career.
He led the Central League with 174 strikeouts and pitched 149 innings with a 2.
80 ERA.
For MLB fans, Imanaga’s breakthrough moment came as the winning pitcher in the gold medal game against the United States at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
He pitched two innings, allowing four hits, one earned run, and two strikeouts.
Considering his age and success, Imanaga decided to take this opportunity to move to MLB and make some money.
The BayStars officially released him on November 27, giving the MLB club 45 days to negotiate a contract with his agent.
2023 Statcast metrics from Imanaga’s three starts in the WBC are very promising for him as he prepares to face MLB players.
According to David Adler of MLB.com, Imanaga’s fastball averaged 94.
4 miles per hour and 2,566 revolutions.
“This is solid fastball velocity and high spin for a left-handed starter, which may suggest that Imanaga has a “soaring” fastball that produces swings and whiffs.
there is.
“Left-handed starting pitchers in MLB averaged 92.
9 mph and averaged four-seam fastball velocity of 2,234 revolutions in 2023,” Adler wrote.
Adler pointed out that Imanaga’s best pitch is a splitter, which has characteristics similar to the “ghost fork” ball thrown by New York Mets right-hander Kodai Chiga.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a star name among the Japanese players joining MLB this offseason, but Imanaga is more than just a consolation prize for Chicago’s rotation in 2024 and beyond.
The Cubs are not exactly in the same territory as the San Francisco Giants, as they are a team that has not been able to sign with the Giants and is constantly involved in free agent negotiations, but the distance between the two is very close.
Yes, it’s not in a great location.
.
It’s unclear how involved the Cubs were in discussions with Shohei Ohtani before he chose the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they were at least mentioned frequently.
All of this means that he at MLB’s top teams shouldn’t have much trouble getting players to sign if one makes a competitive offer.
Last season, the Cubs took a step forward thanks to the advances of Justin Steele, Seiya Suzuki and rebounding from Cody Bellinger.
Bellinger may not be back, but the rotation was what the Cubs needed in the offseason.
Jameson Taillon, who signed a four-year contract last winter, was disappointing with an ERA of 4.
84.
Marcus Stroman released his contract to become a free agent.
There is a lot of help with setup from the farm system.
Pete Crow Armstrong and Kevin Alcantara should start in the major leagues in 2024.
Owen Casey might not be far behind.
Chicago has quality pitching options in the upper minors, including Cade Horton and Ben Brown.
But if this team wants to make the playoffs, strong starters and depth are essential
