The Shōta Imanaga sweepstakes look to be coming to an end one way or another this week. With his posting date closing Thursday January 11 at 5 pm ET, Mark Feinsand of MLB reports that everything is pointing to the San Francisco Giants to sign Imanaga. After missing out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani, reports indicate they don’t want to miss out on another major player.
Shota Imanaga, Photo by Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants’ president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi, confirmed to reporters that team brass met with Imanaga’s representatives. The team acquired pitcher Robbie Ray from the Seattle Mariners, a lefty like Imanaga. They also made their biggest splash of the offseason when they signed former KBO outfielder Jung-hoo Lee to a six-year, $113 million contract.
While many view the Giants as the favorites to land Imanaga, the Angels, Cubs, Red Sox and Mets remain in play. The Mets might be a long shot to land the left-hander after reports about signing Sean Manaea to a two-year deal. However, the Mets are looking to add more pitching via trades. Imanaga expects to land a contract north of Kodai Senga‘s five-year, $75 million but short of what Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell will net.
Imanaga has a lifetime 3.18 ERA in the Nippon Baseball League through 165 games and a 64-50 record. In the 2023 season, he struck out 188 batters in 159 innings and pitched to an admirable 2.66 ERA.
