Imanaga’s return won’t stop Cubs from pursuing starting pitching

Posted December 09, 2025 2:35 pm

By Patrick Mooney

ORLANDO, Fla. — Shota Imanaga’s decision to take a one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer from the Cubs hasn’t stopped the club’s pursuit of another accomplished starting pitcher.

Though Imanaga’s salary will take a chunk of the 2026 budget for baseball operations, the Cubs entered this offseason focused on creating more pitching depth, both in terms of quantity to get through a 162-game season and quality for another playoff run.

Cubs president Jed Hoyer is also optimistic that Imanaga can regain what made him a dazzling performer in 2024, when the Japanese lefty placed in the top five of the National League Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year voting.

All those highlights began to fade this year after a midseason hamstring injury and a disappointing October. Imanaga, 32, briefly became a free agent last month after both sides worked through an intricate series of contractual options that ultimately led to a qualifying offer.

“We knew there was a possibility he would accept it,” Hoyer said Monday at the Winter Meetings. “Clearly, we wouldn’t have offered it if we weren’t excited to have him back or if we were going to be handcuffed by it. We weren’t blindsided at all.”

As team officials, player agents and TV crews gathered at a hotel complex near Walt Disney World for this annual industry convention, the Cubs continued to monitor free agents and the trade market.

Confirmed names on Chicago’s radar, per team and league sources, include Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai; Michael King, a right-hander with big upside coming off an injury-plagued season; and Zac Gallen, who had been a multiyear Cy Young Award contender before a down season with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Pitching can also be so fragile and unpredictable that it wouldn’t be shocking if Imanaga outperforms that group next year.

Imanaga visited the Cressey Sports Performance facility in Florida to figure out what went wrong. Additionally, he has been sharing video with the Cubs and communicating with their pitching group, trying to brainstorm ideas for improvement.

“We’re definitely getting a super-motivated pitcher back,” Hoyer said. “He didn’t like the way the season ended. I don’t want to speak for him, but he’s trying to figure it out. When you’re in the moment, it’s hard to make changes. The minute the season was over, right away, it was about: ‘How do I make these changes?’ He’s been working really hard at it already.”

Imanaga was sidelined for most of May and June with a strained left hamstring, which may explain how he lost feel for his mechanics, as well as some confidence and the sharpness of his fastball.

During the playoffs, the Cubs deployed an opener in front of Imanaga in the wild-card round, pulled him in the third inning of his start against the Milwaukee Brewers and did not use him in their season-ending loss.

Recency bias likely worked against Imanaga, a one-time All-Star who still accounted for almost 145 innings (9-8, 3.73 ERA, 0.988 WHIP) during an up-and-down season.

In evaluating Imanaga’s body of work, the Cubs first declined their three-year, $57.75 million option. Imanaga then declined his $15.25 million option for next season, which came with an additional player option that could have guaranteed him $30.5 million over two years.

Imanaga’s acceptance of the qualifying offer gave the Cubs some clarity and a degree of certainty.

“We’re definitely looking for another starter,” said Hoyer, who also sounded open to adding another swingman to go between the bullpen and the rotation. “Could we add multiple guys that can make starts? Yes.”