MESA, Ariz. — With their season on the line, the Chicago Cubs did not trust Shota Imanaga enough to give him the ball, following a careful plan that featured six other pitchers in an elimination game they would lose.
Then, in their first major offseason decision, the Cubs did not believe in Imanaga enough to exercise a three-year, $57.75 million option on his contract, allowing the Japanese lefty to become a free agent and see whether he could get a better deal elsewhere.
This back-and-forth might have been awkward, Imanaga declining his contractual option to stay in Chicago, gauging interest from other teams and then ultimately deciding to come back on the one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer rather than wait out the market.
“No,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, there was no need to smooth anything over with Imanaga, a proud and determined competitor. “I was very confident that he would put himself in a very good position.”
Where Imanaga ends up in October and beyond is uncertain. There’s only so much to be gleaned from the upbeat interviews and low-stress workouts during spring training in Arizona. Professional athletes are supposed to look good in practice and be in the best shape of their lives.
The main takeaway from Tuesday’s Cactus League exhibition at Sloan Park was that Imanaga felt good after throwing two scoreless innings in a 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres. His velocity appears to be trending in the right direction (a 93 mph average on his fastball). The early signs are at least encouraging, especially when paired with a cerebral approach and obvious motivations.
“We felt like it was unfinished business,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. “He’d shown what he can do at such a high level. And then to not quite have that when we needed it most down the stretch, he wanted more. He thinks there’s more in there. There’s more to prove.”
During his dazzling debut, the Cubs organization seemed quite content to capitalize on “Shotamania,” introducing an entertaining new character to Wrigleyville and positioning itself as an attractive destination for Japanese talent.
Imanaga kept the club afloat in 2024 — the Cubs went 23-6 in his starts and 60-73 in their other games. That All-Star performance got his name in the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award voting.
The 2025 Tokyo Series marked an emotional homecoming for Imanaga, who threw four no-hit innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the season opener and carried a 2.77 ERA into May, showing no signs of a sophomore jinx.
A strained left hamstring then sidelined Imanaga for almost two full months, an injury that would lead to almost imperceptible changes to how he would generate power from the lower half of his body.
Everything is connected. A different degree of stability on the mound can slightly alter a pitcher’s mechanics. Sharp command comes with a consistent delivery and constant repetition. Tinkering inevitably happens when you’re trying to create more velocity and find the right pitch shapes.
The game is all about confidence, and the Cubs didn’t have all the answers in time. Imanaga gave up 10 home runs in September, exposing a weakness that initially concerned evaluators as he made the transition from Nippon Professional Baseball. The trust, instincts and problem-solving skills that made this such a great partnership did not sync up for October.
The Cubs used an opener in front of Imanaga during the wild-card round. After advancing past the Padres, the Cubs watched Imanaga struggle in a rough start against the Milwaukee Brewers and then avoided using him in the decisive Game 5. That set the stage for an intricate series of contract decisions.
“All the different scenarios, I like to think about everything positively,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “Looking at it with my teammates that I’ve played with before, the coaching staff, there’s a level of comfort.
“Pitching in front of the Wrigley crowd, that’s an amazing experience. Doing my best for them, that’s what’s important.”
Imanaga appreciated the words of encouragement and perspective from Counsell during the club’s exit meetings: You get punched in the mouth and you got to make your adjustments.
Immediately after the season ended, Imanaga traveled to the Cressey Sports Performance facility in Florida, visiting its noted pitching lab for a full download.
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said there were no hard feelings from the contract situation, saying the team would welcome him back and anticipate a big year.
Imanaga stayed in contact with the team’s pitching coaches, sharing ideas and sending videos from his offseason program. Hottovy has thoughts about taking Imanaga’s sweeper to the next level, making the curveball a more prominent pitch and using a different sinker grip.
Rather than pitch for his country in the upcoming World Baseball Classic — Imanaga helped Japan beat Team USA in the 2023 championship game — he elected to continue training with his team in Mesa and focus on the long season ahead.
“All that work has brought me here today,” Imanaga said. “I’m thankful. The feeling of appreciation is all I had.”
— Sahadev Sharma contributed to this story.