Japanese Pitcher Shota Imanaga Officially Posted to MLB Free Agency Monday

Left-handed pitcher Shota Imanaga has officially been posted to MLB free agency, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars told Kyoto News on Monday.

The club previously confirmed they would allow Imanaga to pursue a career in the United States back on Nov. 11, two months after reports first started to surface about his interest in leaving Japan. Once the MLB league office notifies all 30 teams that Imanaga has been posted, he and his representatives will have 45 days to negotiate with potential suitors.

The negotiation window is expected to open Tuesday morning.

Imanaga has spent the last eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, and he pitched for Team Japan at the World Baseball Classic back in March. Imanaga started the championship game against Team USA, picking up the win after tossing 2.0 innings and allowing one earned run.

The 30-year-old southpaw went 7-5 with a 2.66 ERA, 1.019 WHIP and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 24 appearances this season. Over the course of his professional career – which dates back to 2016 – Imanaga is 74-55 with a 2.96 ERA, 1.076 WHIP and 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

Imanaga has a fastball, changeup, curveball and slider in his repertoire.

International players over the age of 25 who have played nine or more professional seasons are not subject to the posting system, but Imanaga has only played eight seasons to this point.

As a result, the BayStars will receive a cut of whatever deal Imanaga gets from an MLB team. Yokohama will earn a release fee of 20% of Imanaga's contract if it less than $25 million, $5 million plus 17.5% of the amount over $25 million if it is between $25 million and $50 million, or $9.275 million plus 15% of the amount over $50 million if it exceeds that figure.

MLB Trade Rumors predicted that Imanaga would sign a five-year, $85 million contract, which would result in a $14.525 million release fee.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand mentioned the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners as potential fits for Imanaga at the beginning of the offseason. According to Yakyu Cosmopolitan, the Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays had scouts in attendance at one of Imanaga's starts in June.

Feinsand initially had ranked Imanaga as the No. 7 starting pitcher and No. 15 overall player on the free agent market heading into 2024. But with Aaron Nola, Kenta Maeda and Sonny Gray already signing with the Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Cardinals, respectively, Imanaga is likely to become an even hotter commodity as December and the annual Winter Meetings approach.

Imanaga isn't the only Japanese ace set to come stateside this winter, either.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto – who is widely seen as the top righty on the market – was posted to MLB free agency by the Orix Buffaloes on Nov. 20. Yamamoto could potentially break the record for the largest contract signed by a Japanese player, which is still the seven-year, $155 million deal Masahiro Tanaka inked with the New York Yankees in 2014.

Another Japanese superstar, Shohei Ohtani, is also a free agent after six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.

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