Shota Imanaga’s Struggles Fuel Growing Concern After Latest Start

The Chicago Cubs were looking for (needing) Shota Imanaga to look like he did last year in his rookie outing.

For the first half of the season, he did, but that is long over. Imanaga has found himself in a rut at the worst possible time. He just finished his last start of the regular season and how bad it went isn't as concerning as how common it has been recently.

The Cubs pitching staff took a huge hit with the loss of Justin Steele this season, but with Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga there was still hope, right? Wrong. Imanaga is having a brutal end to his season and Matthew Boyd isn't looking much better. If not for Cade Horton the Cubs' starting rotation wouldn't have a single ace on it.

Imanaga with the Cubs

Imanaga winding up to throw a pitch out of a dark brown glove wearing a white pin stripe unifor — Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Imanaga's latest start was against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field, and it appeared that being on his home mound didn't matter. Imanaga was pulled after five innings where he had eight earned runs on nine hits with a pair of home runs. One of those was a three-run homer to put the Mets up 6-0 in only the fourth inning.

Unfortunately, this start isn't much of an outlier recently. Imanaga is 1-2 in his last seven starts with 25 earned runs on 38 hits. Right now he is a liability to start in the postseason which is a hard thing to comprehend with the season he had just last year.

The 32-year-old made his debut just last season where he went 15-3 in 29 starts. Imanaga posted an ERA under 3.00 in his first major league season. Even though he is having a rough go of things lately, he could still get back to the pitcher the Cubs need him to be.

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Shota Imanaga’s final line:

5.2 IP | 9 H | 8 ER | 3 K pic.twitter.com/FjPGm7OiF6
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 26, 2025

Right now there is no way that the Cubs don't use Cade Horton in their first game when the postseason rolls around, should he be fit to play. However, Horton cannot start every outing and that means both Imanaga and Boyd are going to need to look like their usual selves with October only a few days away.

Now the Cubs had already lost the chance of winning the division title to the Milwaukee Brewers, but the team was still playing to maintain the top wild card spot and every game matters. The ballclub will finish up their regular season at Wrigley Field in a series against the Saint Louis Cardinals before October rolls around.

The postseason pressure is rising and there are serious concerns surrounding Imanaga.

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