The A's Have a Huge, Unexpected Opportunity This Offseason
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One player that wasn't necessarily expected to hit the free agent market this offseason is now-former Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga. According to ESPN, the club declined his option to extend the contract to 2028, and he likewise rejected the $15 million player option in front of him.
The contract that the Cubs declined to extend would have been worth $57 million over the next three seasons, with the 32-year-old left-hander making $20 million in both 2026 and 2027, plus $17 million in 2028. Now, he's a free agent instead, and every team can make their own pitch to him.
The A's could use a veteran in the rotation to join Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, Luis Morales and Jacob Lopez, and given that he has pitched in Chicago a fair amount over the past two seasons, he could be the perfect free agent target for the A's to go after.
Numerous times throughout the season, A's manager Mark Kotsay and opposing managers compared playing at Sutter Health Park to playing at Wrigley Field, with the park factors dependent upon which way the wind was blowing that day.
In his first year with the Cubs, he held a 2.72 ERA at home, compared to a 3.14 ERA on the road, combining for a 2.91 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP across 173 1/3 innings of work.
In his second season in 2025, Imanaga held a 3.73 overall ERA, and while his strikeout rate dropped to 20.6%, but his hit rate and WHIP also declined. He had a .218 batting average against (.225 in 2024) and a 0.988 WHIP thanks to his low walk rate. He's still a solid pitcher, and a team that's hoping to take the next step like the A's should be in heavy contact with the lefty.
The one concern that the Cubs likely had with the righty is that he was getting squared up a decent amount, with an average launch angle of 21.7 degrees and an average exit velo of 90.7 miles per hour. His fastball was a big reason for those metrics, as 24 of his 31 home runs allowed came on the four-seamer.
Imanaga also ranked in the 90th percentile with his breaking and offspeed pitches, and in the 84th percentile in chase rate, so there was plenty working for him outside of the fastball. It's also worth noting that the exit velocity and launch angle metrics only apply when a batter can make contact with the pitch, and his splitter (32.4% whiff) and sweeper (35.4% whiff) missed quite a few bats.
Adding him would be a huge boon for the A's rotation, and would perhaps even provide the club with another trade asset in either Severino, if they can find a taker for his contract, or one of a number of their young and inexperienced rotation options.
It's hard to figure what it would take to land Imanaga, but given that the Cubs decided not to pick up his three-year option, instead hoping to go year-to-year, if the Athletics came in and offered some stability and a similar price point, that could get the two sides talking. Somewhere in the three years, $60 million range for a pitcher with his track record would be helpful on the field.
Adding Imanaga would also give the A's a potential slice of the Japanese viewership from overseas, which is something that the club would love to have a piece of when they get to Las Vegas. Plus, one of the biggest signings the A's made last winter was international addition Shotaro Morii, who is attempting to become a two-way player, pitching as well as playing shortstop.
Imanaga could serve as a bit of a role model for Morii within the organization, while Imanaga brings in the viewership from Japan for the next few years, with the hope being to continue that trend with Morii down the line.
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Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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