The Cubs have agreed to trade with Japanese southpaw Imanaga.
After a medical examination, sources tell MLB Network insider Jon Paul Morosi on Tuesday night that the Cubs are finalizing their first major offseason trade agreement: they have agreed to a deal with Japanese left-hander Shōta Imanaga. The transfer is not endorsed by the club.
The multi-year contract would average $15 million a year once it is formalized, according to individuals who spoke with Morosi.
With the exception of hiring manager Craig Counsell, Chicago had a quiet winter, but the acquisition of Imanaga provides them a front-runner in the lineup. Seiya Suzuki, a fellow countryman who joined the Cubs in 2022 following nine seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, is joined by the southpaw.
Imanaga had the opportunity to look for a shot in Major League Baseball following eight seasons in the NPB after he was posted by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The posting period was scheduled to end at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Despite not receiving the same kind of attention as fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Imanaga, a 30-year-old left-hander, is an excellent pitcher in his own right and projects to be a No. 2 or No. 3 starter in the Major Leagues.
Imanaga pitched 1,002 2/3 innings in the NPB, recording a 3.18 ERA with a four-pitch mix that included a splitter, slider, curveball, and fastball from the mid-1990s.
During the previous two seasons, he recovered from left shoulder surgery in 2020, which kept him out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and posted a 2.53 ERA with 306 strikeouts over 291 2/3 innings.
Imanaga’s performance as a pitcher for his nation in the 2023 World Baseball Classic gave MLB fans a close-up view. Having played well in the pool stages against South Korea and the quarterfinals against Italy, Imanaga began and prevailed against Team USA in the gold medal match.