Photo credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images
The Chicago Cubs have made their first major move of the offseason, as USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale reports that the team agreed to a tentative deal with Japanese pitcher Shōta Imanaga.
The left-hander reportedly will undergo a physical in Chicago on Thursday to make the deal official.
After landing Imanaga, Chicago’s pitching rotation is set to look like this for the 2024 season:
Starters: Justin Steele, Shōta Imanaga, Kyle Hendricks, Jameson Taillon, Javier Assad
Relievers: Mark Leiter Jr., Daniel Palencia, Drew Smyly, Luke Little, Julian Merryweather,
Closer: Adbert Alzolay
Imanaga spent eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball before his posting by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars this winter. While he hasn’t received the same amount of attention as his countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the southpaw is a solid addition to a Chicago team that has had a relatively quiet offseason outside of hiring Craig Counsell as its next manager.
Per MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan, Imanaga had an ERA of 3.18 over his NPB career, but he posted a 2.53 ERA with 306 strikeouts over the past two seasons. The 30-year-old starred for Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and started and won the gold-medal game against Team USA.
Imanaga is joining a Cubs pitching staff that ranked 14th in the majors with a collective 4.08 ERA last season. Chicago finished second in the NL Central with an 83-79 record but fell short of the playoffs for the third straight year.
Perhaps landing Imanaga will help kick off more offseason moves for the Cubs as they try to retool for a run in 2024.
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