Imanaga returning to Cubs on one-year deal

Posted November 18, 2025 4:03 pm

By Patrick Mooney

Shota Imanaga will be returning to the Cubs on a one-year, $22.025 million contract, a league source briefed on his decision said before Tuesday’s deadline to accept or reject the qualifying offer. This reconnects the Japanese pitcher with the team that helped him become an All-Star, and a city that appreciates his entertaining style on and off the mound.

This latest move closed some of the distance between Imanaga and the organization that initially signed him out of Nippon Professional Baseball. That four-year, $53 million contract included an intricate series of options, which enabled him to become a free agent.

With a few slight adjustments in 2026, Imanaga could still deliver top-of-the-rotation upside. His unique skills and overall body of work (24-11, 3.28 ERA in 54 major-league starts) remain highly valued. When he’s locked in, his flair for pitching adds to the fans’ experience at Wrigley Field and gives people a reason to watch Cubs games on TV.

After a spectacular rookie year in 2024, Imanaga opened this past season promisingly, throwing four no-hit, scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers inside the Tokyo Dome. But from an individual standpoint, this year did not go as smoothly.

After missing most of May and June with a strained left hamstring, Imanaga struggled to fully recapture what made him a Cy Young Award contender the previous year. While he certainly contributed to the success of a playoff team — going 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA over 25 starts — the Cubs did not demonstrate the same level of trust in him in October.

By not using Imanaga against the Milwaukee Brewers in the elimination game that ended their season, the Cubs foreshadowed the decision to decline their three-year, $57.75 million option on Imanaga’s contract.

Imanaga swiftly declined his $15.25 million player option for next season, which would have enabled him to hold another player option for 2027. In that scenario, he could have taken at least $30.5 million guaranteed over the next two years.

That series of decisions added to the ongoing dialogue between Cubs officials and Imanaga’s representatives. The Cubs viewed the third year — committing to Imanaga through 2028 — as a sticking point. The lefty is already 32 years old, with a tendency to give up home runs, and the club is still looking to add different elements to its pitching staff.

In a formality, All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker declined a qualifying offer from the Cubs. Assuming Tucker signs elsewhere this winter, the Cubs will be in line for a compensation pick after Competitive Balance Round B in the 2026 draft.

That addition could make it more palatable for the Cubs to sign a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer from another team — a possibility that president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is much more open to this offseason. In that event, the Cubs would lose their second-highest selection in the 2026 draft as well as $500,000 from their bonus pool for international signings.

The Cubs have already been linked to several pitchers who also rejected qualifying offers, notable names such as Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, Michael King, Ranger Suárez and Zac Gallen. Even with Imanaga back in the fold, Chicago’s front office made it clear that pitching will be the organization’s top offseason priority.

Now that Imanaga’s name is back on the depth chart, the projected 2026 rotation options also include Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, Justin Steele, Colin Rea and Javier Assad, assuming good health and no major setbacks with those pitchers.

The Cubs, however, have only one player on a fully guaranteed contract for 2027 and beyond: Gold Glove shortstop Dansby Swanson. Part of that strategy involved being flexible around changes in the next collective bargaining agreement. But between all those expiring contracts and a glaring lack of pitching talent in the farm system, it would make sense for the Cubs to invest in the future.