Shota Imanaga will join the Cubs. A Japanese pitcher signs with Chicago for four years and $53 million, with options for each year.
Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ reports that the Chicago Cubs have made a deal with Japanese starter Shota Imanaga. Jesse Rogers of ESPN says that the deal guarantees Imanaga $53 million over four years.
After the first two years, the Cubs team can make the deal last for another five years and pay $80 million.
They can get out of the deal early if they don’t want to do that by the end of the second or third season. Imanaga will then be a free agent.
Imanaga is going to Major League Baseball after eight years in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, which is the second-best league in the world.
He had an earned run average of 2.96, struck out more batters than walks three times per inning, and walked no batters more than once per inning.
He did, however, let in a pretty high number of home runs compared to others in the league, which makes people wonder how well he’s going to be able to handle power in the MLB.
Bob Nightengale and Jon Heyman say that the Cubs might have made a deal for Japanese pitcher Shota Imanaga on Tuesday. Before the deal is official, Imanaga will get a physical.
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers said that the deal has a duration of four years and $53 million. After the third and fourth years, there is a chance to make it five years and $80 million.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on January 7 that the Los Angeles Dodgers are signing free-market outfielder Teoscar Hernández on a one-year, $23.5 million deal.
The story says that $8.5 million of the deal will be divided into payments over ten years, from 2030 to 1939. The deal is another big one for the Dodgers this summer.
They also signed Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two-way star Shohei Ohtani, and erstwhile Rays starter Tyler Glasnow.
The story says that Hernández turned down offers for multiple years in order to sign the high-value, one-year deal for the Dodgers. Yahoo Sports ranked him as the sixteenth-best free agent this winter.
ESPN reported that people close to the situation said the Cubs and Japanese lefty Shota Imanaga agreed to a four-year, $53 million deal on Wednesday.
The team can choose to extend the contract to $80 million across five years after both Years 2 and 3. This is one of the many clauses in the deal.
But if the Cubs don’t do well in either year, Imanaga may elect to leave the original deal or become a free agent.
The advertising window for Imanaga was almost over when he made the deal. He had until Thursday to either sign with an MLB team or go back to the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization’s Yokohama Bay Stars.
People think that Imanaga is the best reliever in the second group of free agents. The most sought-after arms are Blake Snell, Aaron Nola, and Jordan Montgomery, both from Japan, along with Shohei Ohtani as well as Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Cubs’ first big move of the summer was to sign Imanaga. They still need to fill spots at first base and maybe third base as well. It’s still possible to get back together with Cody Bellinger, the centerfielder, but they haven’t set a date yet.
Sources say that the Pittsburgh Pirates were also interested in Imanaga, but the lefty decided to stay in Chicago, where he has been since Christmas.
Imanaga is near the top of the Cubs’ order, just behind Justin Steele, who is their starter. Next up are Jameson Taillon and Kyle Hendricks. At the back, young players Jordan Wicks or Javier Assad are in the mix.
Steele will stay with the team for a few more years, and Taillon has a long-term deal. After the 2024 season, Hendricks will become a free agent.
The Cubs are additionally giving the Bay Stars a release fee of $9,825,000, which is just under $10 million.
Not only does the team count on Wicks and Assad, but also on its training system to keep producing young pitchers.
Next season, highly regarded prospects Cade Horton as well as Ben Brown could make it to the major leagues.