Although Yoshinobu Yamamoto is drawing most of the attention as the top pitcher this offseason, his fellow countrymate Shōta Imanaga is also attempting to make the jump from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) to MLB.
Although his upside is more limited than Yamamoto’s, Imanaga projects as a solid middle-of-the-rotation pitcher with the ability to eat innings, giving him wide appeal to clubs in need of rotation depth and talent.
There are multiple teams across the sport searching for starting pitching and a few more that need at least two, including the Los Angeles Dodgers. As part of their search for pitching, the Dodgers are among the teams interested in Imanaga, according to J.P. Morosi of MLB Network:
Shōta Imanaga, winning pitcher in the WBC gold medal game, is drawing broad interest from @MLB clubs, including the Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox, and Cubs.
Some in the industry believe he could receive an AAV in the $20 million range.pic.twitter.com/cYv3jmTL9I
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 12, 2023
Imanaga was selected by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars with the first pick in the 2015 NPB Draft and ended up going 64-50 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while striking out 1,021 and walking 280 over 1,002.2 innings in 165 games. He also had 13 complete games and seven shutouts over eight NPB seasons.
The 30-year-old is coming off a fantastic season where he went 7-4 with a 2.80 ERA and 1.05 WHIP while also winning the strikeout crown, finishing with 174 punchouts to only 24 walks while throwing 148 innings.
Imanaga also represented Japan in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year and started in the Gold Medal Game against the United States.
During that start, the southpaw pitched two innings, giving up one run on four hits while striking out two — Paul Goldschmidt and Cedric Mullins. His only run allowed was a home run to Trea Turner in the second inning.
He relies on multiple pitchers including a mid-90s fastball, splitter, curveball and a cutter/slider hybrid. His fastball has a high spin rate, averaging 2,566 rpm during the WBC, which is roughly 300 rpm over the average MLB fastball and bodes well for his ability to get strikeouts.
When will Shōta Imanaga sign?
Imanaga must sign by 2 p.m. PT on Thursday, January 11, 2024, as part of his posting, giving him roughly one month to choose his next team.
He figures to wait on Yamamoto to pick his next team, which may lead to more interested clubs that are willing to pay more after missing out on the prized right-hander. Yamamoto is expected to sign before Christmas.
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