There is surprising news today about Japanese left-hander Shōta Imanaga, and I call him “Japanese” instead of “Cubs” because…
So as of today, Imanaga is a free agent.
For the first season and a half of his time with the Cubs, Imanaga was one of the better pitchers in the National League. He was an All-Star in 2024 and finished fourth in Rookie of the Year and fifth in Cy Young voting.
A hamstring injury forced him to miss several weeks in May and June and on his return, he was pretty good… but starting with a pounding by the White Sox July 27, Imanaga’s last 12 starts were pretty bad: 5.17 ERA and 20 (!) home runs allowed in 69.2 innings. He also allowed three home runs in 6.2 innings in two postseason starts.
I don’t think this necessarily means Imanaga won’t be a Cub in 2026. The Cubs could try to negotiate a longer-term deal that’s different from the option years he had in his previous deal. They will almost certainly give him a qualifying offer, which for 2026 is $22.025 million. That’s significantly more than he would have made under the contract option in 2026, so it’s possible he could take it and go to free agency after 2026. This would also keep the Cubs in line with having most of their long-term contracts expire after the coming season.
One other reason the team option might have been declined is that it would have triggered a full no-trade clause. Again, this is something that could be negotiated in a new deal.
So while this is a bit of a surprise, maybe it really isn’t.
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