Yamamoto Who? Cubs’ Shota Imanaga Emerges From Shadow of Dodgers Counterpart

It’s not like the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga was ignored as he waited in the shadows for fellow Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto to finalize his 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in January.

But Imanaga’s signing — for four years and $53 million — with the Cubs two weeks later was done with much less fanfare and hype.

Now, Imanaga, 30, whom The Athletic called a “relatively unheralded” rookie, has stolen the spotlight.

“Imanaga pitching like a Cy Young Award front-runner through mid-May was not one of the assumptions that the Cubs baked into their projections,” Patrick Mooney wrote in a story published May 18.

Through nine games, Imanaga is 5-0 with a .093 WHIP, 498 ERA+, 9.73 K/9, 1.51 BB/9, and a sick 0.84 ERA, which is “the lowest of any starting pitcher (excluding openers) through nine career starts since 1913, when earned runs first became a stat,” according to The Athletic.

“No one was hyping up Imanaga as a star last winter, but this is happening, transcending what the Cubs thought might be possible,” Mooney wrote.

Yamamoto is still delivering for the Dodgers, but his numbers are far less flashy. At 4-1, Yamamoto’s 3.21 ERA and 1.08 WHIP aren’t among those of the top 25 pitchers in the league and are second on the team to ace Tyler Glasnow’s.

Yamamoto’s 128 ERA+ pales in comparison to Imanaga’s, as do his WAR numbers. Yamamoto’s 1.0 fWAR and 0.7 bWAR lag far behind Imanaga’s 1.9 and 3.0, respectively.

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A WBC Champion, Nice 2023 NPB & a Shaky 2024 Spring for Imanaga

Although clearly a 2nd-tier pitcher in Japan compared to Yamamoto (then again, who wasn’t?), Imanaga did bring some cache of his own to the majors.

He was the starting pitcher in Japan’s 3-2 win over the USA in the championship of the World Baseball Classic (WBC)

In March 2023, the World Baseball Classic (WBC) was played, and Imanaga represented Japan as the deciding game starter. He picked up the win in a 3-2 victory over the USA to help Japan claim the Championship.

Then had a very nice season in the NPB posting a 2.80 ERA and a career-best 29.2 K%/4.0 BB%. He led the league in strikeouts (Yamamoto was second) and has a lifetime 3.18 ERA in Japan.

Because most experts grade the NPB somewhere between Triple-A and Major League Baseball, there was reason to believe lefty Shota Imanaga could hold his own.

In his first spring training, Shota had an up-and-down month, getting rocked for a couple of home runs and a 5.68 ERA, but striking out 25 batters in 12.2 innings. Imanaga flashed a cagey four-seam fastball and villainous splitter to raise hopes on the North Side.

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The Cubs & Jed Hoyer Pull a Coup

Imanaga had interest from other teams but was almost always described as a Plan B for those who came up empty in the Yamamoto stakes.

The Yamamoto anticipation was buffet-style palatable with front offices and fanbases both jonesing for the 3-time Sawamura Award winner (Cy Young equivalent) and 3-time MVP in the Nippon Professional Baseball‘s (NPB) Pacific League.

Three consecutive years at that. ERAs of 1.39, 1.68, and 1.21 while averaging 180 innings pitched. Over 26% of batters faced were K’d.

But not only was general manager Jed Hoyer and the Cubs FO able to swoop down like an owl on a field mouse at night, but they did it in an impressively nominal way.

Shota is guaranteed $53 million in the deal, by way of $9.2 million this season, $13.2 million next year, and options for both sides over the final three years of the contract.

Through May 19, the Cubs are 8-1 in Imanaga’s starts and 18-20 with anyone else on the month.

“Six of those wins on Imanaga’s starts followed a loss, helping the team maintain momentum,” Mooney wrote. “The Imanaga effect also includes the consistent delivery of innings, allowing the bullpen to reset and recover.”

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