Cubs Pitcher Imanaga Becomes Free Agent After Team and Player Options Declined
The Chicago Cubs have lost their left-handed starting pitcher, Shota Imanaga. The 32-year-old had just finished his second season with the team after signing a four-year contract worth $53 million in 2024. Now, he's entering free agency after both the club and Imanaga declined options.
The Cubs initially signed Imanaga to a long-term deal with an intricate structure that allowed them to extend his contract for another three years if they chose to do so after two seasons. However, when the time came for the team to exercise their option, they decided not to make him part of their future plans.
Imanaga also declined a $15 million player option for 2026, which is the final year of his original contract. This decision means he'll be looking for a new team and a chance to sign a new deal. The Cubs still have the ability to extend a one-year qualifying offer ($22.025 million) to Imanaga in the coming days.
Throughout his MLB career so far, Imanaga has demonstrated his capabilities as an All-Star player with impressive statistics. In his rookie season, he finished fifth in National League Cy Young voting and fourth for NL Rookie of the Year. However, this year was interrupted by a hamstring injury that caused some mechanical inconsistency during the season.
The Cubs were initially optimistic about Imanaga's development but saw him fall short of meeting expectations due to the injury. Now, teams are going to look at his full body of work and come up with strategies to optimize his abilities.
Starting pitching is expected to be in high demand this offseason, with players commanding sky-high asks on the trade market. Imanaga would fit into that category as he's one of several quality left-handers available for signing. Other notable pitchers like Ranger Suárez and Franber Valdez are also expected to be in high demand.
As a result, Imanaga will likely have a number of suitors looking at his performance over the past two seasons. The Cubs will also face pressure from fans who want their pitching staff replenished after losing such an effective starter.
The Chicago Cubs have lost their left-handed starting pitcher, Shota Imanaga. The 32-year-old had just finished his second season with the team after signing a four-year contract worth $53 million in 2024. Now, he's entering free agency after both the club and Imanaga declined options.
The Cubs initially signed Imanaga to a long-term deal with an intricate structure that allowed them to extend his contract for another three years if they chose to do so after two seasons. However, when the time came for the team to exercise their option, they decided not to make him part of their future plans.
Imanaga also declined a $15 million player option for 2026, which is the final year of his original contract. This decision means he'll be looking for a new team and a chance to sign a new deal. The Cubs still have the ability to extend a one-year qualifying offer ($22.025 million) to Imanaga in the coming days.
Throughout his MLB career so far, Imanaga has demonstrated his capabilities as an All-Star player with impressive statistics. In his rookie season, he finished fifth in National League Cy Young voting and fourth for NL Rookie of the Year. However, this year was interrupted by a hamstring injury that caused some mechanical inconsistency during the season.
The Cubs were initially optimistic about Imanaga's development but saw him fall short of meeting expectations due to the injury. Now, teams are going to look at his full body of work and come up with strategies to optimize his abilities.
Starting pitching is expected to be in high demand this offseason, with players commanding sky-high asks on the trade market. Imanaga would fit into that category as he's one of several quality left-handers available for signing. Other notable pitchers like Ranger Suárez and Franber Valdez are also expected to be in high demand.
As a result, Imanaga will likely have a number of suitors looking at his performance over the past two seasons. The Cubs will also face pressure from fans who want their pitching staff replenished after losing such an effective starter.
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. I think this is gonna be a crazy offseason for starting pitchers, teams are already throwing around huge bucks on the trade market 
. Imanaga's injury history is a concern but his stats are still pretty impressive 
. He was supposed to be the ace of their staff but now he's gotta prove himself all over again 
. Guess it's gonna be interesting to see how teams try to optimize his game, maybe a change of scenery will help him regain his form 
he deserves so much more than that $53 million contract. teams r gonna be all over him like white on rice this offseason. I'm low-key hoping the cubs regret passin' on him tho 
i mean, he's been putting up solid numbers and was only 32 lol what's the rush? teams are gonna find ways to make him work and give him a chance to prove himself again. maybe he just needed that one year of injury to recharge his batteries 
anyway, imanaga's gonna get snatched up by some team and i'm sure he'll be back to form in no time 
and met shota imanaga in person!!! 
anyway back to him... i think he deserves a huge contract he's been with the cubs for like 2 yrs now and they're letting him go? 
he needs to be careful though, there are some top teams looking at him and he'll be in high demand this offseason 
]
anyway back to imanaga... i mean i think 53 million dollars is a lot for one year but i guess pitchers are like superstars now? 
also what's with all the options and stuff? does anyone actually know how that works? my friend explained it to me but i still don't get it 
anyway can someone please tell me what imanaga's chances of getting signed by another team are? 
cubs fans are already losing sleep over this 
and the worst part is, they're gonna have to offer like $25 million just to keep their starting staff together 
anyone else getting the feeling that we're in for another 2-3 years of mediocrity? 
but i think this opens up a lot of opportunities for him to find an even better fit elsewhere 
so the cubs are losin' imanaga... kinda like when the 2016 team lost arrieta and was all about rebuildin. now they gotta find a new ace to lead 'em back to the top, maybe someone like aroldis Chapman or marcos buehler? 
and would be a huge asset to any team looking for a reliable starter 
️. The demand for starting pitchers is going to be crazy this offseason 
, so Imanaga will definitely have his pick of teams 
? Either way, Cubs fans are gonna miss him 
. And now he's gonna be in high demand, so good luck getting his services at a reasonable price 
and offer him a ton of money 
and it's gonna be super interesting to see who ends up signing him 
. But I guess they decided to take a different approach. Now it's up to Imanaga to prove himself all over again to get a new contract 
... it'll be interesting to see which one he ends up with.
. With guys like Imanaga, Suárez and Valdez looking for new deals, teams are gonna have to break the bank if they want 'em 
.
. He's one of those guys who'll get signed by someone for way more than he's worth, and then they'll try to tweak his mechanics like it's a puzzle piece that can just magically fit 
. Anyway, Imanaga's free agency is gonna be like a big ol' fireworks display – lots of noise, some excitement, but ultimately just another day in the world of baseball 
!