According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs are “very much in play” for free agency pitcher Shota Imanaga.
Heyman adds that the Los Angeles Angels do not currently appear to be one of Imanaga’s five suitors, but the San Francisco Giants are another potential team.
With lefthander Shota Imanaga, the Cubs and Red Sox are thought to be heavily involved. Among the five potential teams, the Giants are another. Angels seem to be gazing away right now.
— January 9, 2024, Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman)
Imanaga’s posting period ends on Thursday night, so he needs to come to a deal by then in order to sign with an MLB team for the upcoming season. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported on Monday that the Giants seem to be the front-runners to sign Imanaga. Giants president Farhan Zaidi stated last week that the team had spoken with the left-hander who is available as a free agency.
On TSN’s list of the Top 50 MLB Free Agents, which was published in November, Imanaga is placed No. 14.
With a 2.66 ERA in 24 appearances for the NPB’s Yokohama Bay Stars last year, the 30-year-old has emerged as one of Japan’s best starting pitchers during the past several seasons. Additionally, in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he pitched for Japan.
According to a survey of league executives conducted by MLB.com and published on Monday, Chicago Cubs rookie outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has a remote chance of winning National League Rookie of the Year.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the new pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was the clear winner with 51% of the vote. As part of a billion-dollar free-agent spending spree, the Dodgers beat out the rest of baseball last month to sign the 25-year-old three-time MVP of the Pacific League.
Jackson Chourio of Milwaukee came in second place with 17% of the vote. This offseason, the outfielder signed the largest deal of any player who hasn’t appeared in an MLB game, and it is anticipated that he will start in centre field for the Brewers on Opening Day.
Crow-Armstrong came in second with 6% of the vote, while Cincinnati’s Noelvi Marte, an infielder with 114 MLB at-bats, came in first with 9%.
