(670 The Score) At long last, the Cubs have made an addition of consequence this offseason.
Japanese left-hander Shota Imanaga has agreed to a deal with the Cubs, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Tuesday evening. Details about the contract weren't immediately known, and its completion is pending a physical. The 30-year-old Imanaga will fill a mid-rotation spot for a Cubs team that let right-hander Marcus Stroman walk in free agency and which has plenty of intriguing-but-unproven young pitching options for the back of its rotation.
Imanaga is an accomplished pitcher in Japan, posting a 3.18 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in eight seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball league. He’s coming off a strong 2023 season, when he had a 2.66 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 159 innings, over which he struck out 188 batters. Imanaga has struck out 9.2 batters per nine innings in his NPB career.
Imanaga also performed well in the World Baseball Classic in 2023 as Japan won the title. He threw six innings across three appearances, allowing two runs while striking out seven.
The Giants, Red Sox and Angels were among the other teams that had shown interest in Imanaga, whose deadline to sign looms Thursday evening.
Until adding Imanaga, the Cubs had arguably the quietest offseason of any MLB team. They hadn’t yet spent a dollar on a big league contract in free agency, having only added a series of players on minor league deals and claiming little-known catcher Brian Serven off waivers.