Imanaga won't need to be a star with Cubs

 

Shota Imanaga signed with the Chicago Cubs in January as one of many players coming over from NPB to MLB. 

Despite having a high fanfare of projections in the heights of $100 million, he only received a contract with $53 million guaranteed. 

Due to the excellent timing, the Cubs were able to introduce him to the public at Cubs Convention, a weekend event for fans and the team to connect. 

"I am very happy to be here and a Cub. I want to thank the Cubs organization and I'm excited to pitch at Wrigley Field," Imanaga said through interpreter Shingo Murata. "I'm looking forward to being with coaches and teammates. Go Cubs go!"

Known as a "Throwing Philosopher," Imanaga said he earned this nickname through his studious habits beyond the physical practice in his pitching. 

Imanaga said Seiya Suzuki did not influence his decision to pick the Cubs when he entered the posting window. It was the Cubs themselves who approached and wanted him the most. 

"One of the things that resonated with me is [when the Cubs said they] believe in my potential and do what I do best," Imanaga said. "At the same time, I realize there's a lot of room for me to grow and I look forward to talking with my coaches and teammates to reach that potential when I can. "

Jed Hoyer, Cubs President of Baseball Operations, said it was an "extensive" process in scouting Imanaga. Both he and General Manager Carter Hawkins did plenty of homework when watching film and reading information. Hoyer even attended a game in September to watch him pitch.

"We're very excited to bring Shota on board," Hoyer said. "He's been a great teammate. He is very curious and he has his reputation of being a cerebral pitcher. He's very curious, as he wants to continue to get better and that sounds like a perfect match for the Cubs."

Hoyer added it was a bonus how Imanaga has already embraces the city of Chicago and talked about the great history of Wrigley Field. 

Imanaga's four-year $53 million contract is rather soft. The Cubs can pickup a fifth year option for 2028 after the 2025 or 2026 seasons and if they refuse, Imanaga can opt out as early as 2025. 

If Chicago picks up the team option, he will make a combined $80 million through 2028.  The Yokohama DeNA Baystars also received a $9.8 million posting fee. 

Imanaga said pitching in the 2023 WBC was an inspiration on how much he can improve his pitching and be even better than he already was in Japan with the Baystars. 

He started the final game against USA taking the first two innings before it was a team bullpen relay for Shohei Ohtani to close it out. 

His biggest transition to MLB will be pitching every fifth game as opposed to once a week in Japan. Imanaga said he would keep an open mind for advice to the changes ahead from a technical standpoint to the larger baseball he's holding. Other things in transition include a pitch clock besides hitters who are more power oriented.

While wearing No. 18 is a common tradition in Japan for pitchers as the team ace, Imanaga said in his press conference he wanted to be like Ben Zobrist, who was an important player during their 2016 World Series championship team. 

For the Cubs, they're coming off a season where they competed a year ahead of schedule. A September collapse by their bullpen and rotation prevented the postseason, but a finish at 83-79 is still higher than where most baseball experts had them going into 2023. 

Imanaga projects to be a No. 4 or No. 5 starter behind Justin Steele, James Taillon and Kyle Hendricks. On the back side, Imanaga will be with Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks. They lost Marcus Stroman in free agency to the New York Yankees. 

The Cubs will need to shore up their bullpen and it could be a struggle coming into 2024 with several uncertain names. However, the back of their rotation will also need to develop from within. 

Overall, it has been a slow offseason with Imanaga being their big signing, though they retained Cody Bellinger, who was coming off a comeback season in 2023. 

Seiya Suzuki also finished the 2023 season strong after injuries and adjustments hurt him in 2022.  There was a gaffe in September, which helped the Arizona Diamondbacks take the final postseason spot, but the Cubs have shown they're in it to compete. 

Aside from Imanaga, their biggest pickup was new Manager Craig Counsell, who they plucked away from the Milwaukee Brewers and within the division. David Ross, his predecessor, likely took the Cubs as far as he could. 

The division is easily up for the grabs when the St. Louis Cardinals came off a down season and the others haven't proven they can hang around for 162 games, but Imanaga's role could get them over that hump into the postseason.

He doesn't need to be an ace, but a pitcher to eat innings. As long as he keeps his rotation job and even goes deeper into games the Cubs will take that, especially how he's being paid like a No. 5 starter. 

There is plenty of reason for optimism for both the Cubs and their willingness to go into Japan for players. Hoyer spoke about the last seasons of having Suzuki help them in approaching Imanaga.  

"I think the whole organization has learned a lot from having Seiya from these two years and what things we can do better," Hoyer said. "I think Shota really benefits from us having two years of that experience. Our hope has always been that we want to be a destination for Japanese players. We go above and beyond to make sure that transition goes smoothly."

Previously, the Cubs signed Yu Darvish after the 2017 World Series. Other names include some being infamous for the wrong reasons like Kosuke Fukudome as well as Kyuji Fujikawa and the twilight of Koji Uehara. 

"We probably made some mistakes along the way and improved some things with Seiya, but our hope is that it becomes Seiya and Shota and many more. There are a lot of great players in the NPB and we hope the city of Chicago and Wrigley field and the Cubs will be a destination."

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