While Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are the two free agents from Japan commanding the most attention this offseason, a third Japanese pitching prodigy might make the biggest impact on the mound next season.
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Meet Sh?ta Imanaga: the 30 year old left-handed pitcher who earned the win against the United States in this year's World Baseball Classic Championship, who has a 3.18 ERA and over 1,000 strikeouts in eight seasons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league, and who became a MLB free agent this morning.
The fact that Imanaga received the starting nod for Team Japan in the WBC final is indication enough of his elite ability — and aside from a second inning home run by Trea Turner in that game (who hit home runs against nearly every pitcher he faced throughout the tournament), Imanaga looked good in the two innings he pitched.
Now that Imanaga has officially been posted by Yokohama BayStars — the same team that Trevor Bauer currently plays for — major league clubs now have 45 days to sign him. According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Dodgers, Giants, and Mariners will likely be major players in signing Imanaga during that 45 day window, which ends on January 11th — although multiple other teams are expected to show interest, as well.
It will be fascinating to see how much interest Imanaga receives during this signing period. Despite Ohtani and Yamamoto making the most waves (and considering that Ohtani won't be available to pitch until 2025), Imanaga could very well be the Japanese free agent pitcher that has the best 2024 season.
Plus, while there have been rumors that Yoshinobu Yamamoto prefers to join a MLB team that already has a Japanese player (which obviously limits the potential teams he'd like to sign with), Imanaga has expressed no such preference — making all 30 teams potential suitors.
Now all there's left to do is wait and see whether it will be the Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, or some other team that pays Imanaga whatever price he's seeking. While he might not have the same long-term upside as Yamamoto, considering that he's five years older, Imanaga is perhaps the more developed pitcher, and should be a mainstay in the rotation of whichever team signs him next season.
