Get to know Sh¨ta Imanaga
Lefty has agreed to 4-year deal with Cubs
David Adler
@_dadlerSh¨ta Imanaga has finally found his team.
Imanaga, the second star Japanese pitcher to be posted as a free agent this offseason along with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, finalized a four-year deal with the Cubs, right before his posting window closes on Thursday.
The 30-year-old left-hander pitched eight seasons for Nippon Professional Baseball's Yokohama DeNA BayStars before deciding to come to the Major Leagues. He could become one of the top arms in the Cubs' rotation alongside Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks and Jameson Taillon, and help replace free agent Marcus Stroman.
Here's a guide to Imanaga, with five key things to know about the lefty.
Fast facts
Position: LHP
Ht/Wt: 5-foot-10, 190 pounds
Age: 30
DOB: Sept. 1, 1993
Born: Kitakyushu, Japan
NPB team: Yokohama DeNA BayStars
NPB seasons: 8
2023 stats: 22 games, 7-4, 2.80 ERA, 174 K, 148 IP
1) He beat Team USA to win WBC gold
Imanaga was the winning pitcher for Samurai Japan in the gold-medal game of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The southpaw drew the start against the U.S. and pitched two innings of one-run ball, with a pair of strikeouts -- getting Cedric Mullins and Paul Goldschmidt.
Imanaga's K of Goldschmidt was particularly impressive. He sent the reigning NL MVP down on three pitches, finishing off Goldschmidt with a nasty splitter on the low-outside corner.
2) He was great against every country he faced
Imanaga pitched in three games during the WBC. Before the championship game against Team USA, he turned in strong appearances against South Korea during pool play and Italy in the quarterfinals.
Piggybacking on Yu Darvish against Korea, Imanaga pitched three innings and allowed just one run with three strikeouts, giving Japan time to break open a close game. One of his strikeout victims was the Cardinals' Tommy Edman, who played for Korea in the tournament.
Against Italy, Imanaga pitched a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts, following up on a strong start by Shohei Ohtani.
3) He no-hit Ohtani's old team
Like fellow Japanese star pitchers Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, Imanaga has thrown a no-hitter in NPB. Imanaga's came last season, on June 7, 2022, against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters -- the team that allowed Ohtani to become a two-way superstar before he came to the Major Leagues.
Imanaga racked up nine strikeouts against the Fighters in the 117-pitch no-hitter and allowed only one baserunner, on a walk in the second inning.
"I never thought I'd be able to achieve it, but everyone on the team guided me," Imanaga said after the game, according to the Japan Times. "Before the ninth, I pictured everyone coming to me to celebrate. I'm happy that is how things turned out."
Imanaga's no-hitter was the first for the BayStars franchise in 52 years -- their previous no-no was thrown by Hiroshi Kito in 1970, when they were the Taiyo Whales.
4) He showed us his stuff on the international stage
Imanaga's repertoire includes a mid-90s fastball from the left side, and two good secondary pitches in his slider and splitter. He also mixes in a curveball.?
And we got some early Statcast pitch tracking data on Imanaga in the World Baseball Classic, including pitch velocities and spin rates. Here's how his stuff looked:?
Fastball: 94.4 mph / 2,566 rpm (96.2 mph max velo)
Splitter: 84.1 mph / 1,084 rpm
Slider: 82.8 mph / 2,548 rpm
Curveball: 73.1 mph / 2,491 rpm
That's solid fastball velo for a lefty starter, and high spin, which could indicate that Imanaga has a "rising" fastball that will generate swings-and-misses. MLB left-handed starting pitchers averaged 92.9 mph and 2,234 rpm on their four-seam fastballs in 2023.
But the most interesting pitch might be Imanaga's splitter. Comparing Imanaga to other Japanese splitter users to come to MLB, its velocity is more in line with Kodai Senga's ghost fork than someone like Ohtani's, which comes in in the high 80s to low 90s. It's also the rare lefty splitter -- not many MLB left-handers throw a splitter at all.
5) He bounced back from shoulder surgery to dominate
Imanaga was forced to undergo season-ending left shoulder surgery in 2020, a procedure that also kept him out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But he returned in 2021 and posted his best seasons ever in 2022 and '23.?
Over the last two seasons, Imanaga went 18-8 in 43 outings for the BayStars with a 2.53 ERA and 306 strikeouts in 291 2/3 innings.
His ERA was well under three in both 2022 (2.26) and 2023 (2.80). And his 10.6 K/9 this year was his career best for a full season, as was his superb 7.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio -- Imanaga issued only 24 walks to go with his 174 K's.