Inside The Cubs

Cubs Could See Next Japanese Ace As Shota Imanaga Replacement

Could this Japanese hurler replace Shota Imanaga in the Chicago Cubs' starting rotation?
Grant Young|
Aug 12, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) walks onto the field during batting practice before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Aug 12, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) walks onto the field during batting practice before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

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The Chicago Cubs could be without one of their best starting pitchers next season, given that Shota Imanaga declined his one-year, $15 million player option earlier this week, which was the byproduct of the Cubs declining a team option to extend Imanaga's contract for three more seasons and $57 million.

There's still a chance that Imanaga could return to the Cubs. He could accept the $22.05 million qualifying offer the Cubs sent his way, or he could decline that and still return to the team on a new deal. But the chances of him returning were less than they were by the end of Chicago's 2025 campaign.

Losing Imanaga would be tough to recover from. While the 32-year-old wasn't able to replicate his fantastic 2023 rookie season (where he went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 29 starts), his 9-8 record and 3.73 ERA were still respectable, and suggest that he'll be one of the more prized pitchers available on the free agency market if he makes it there.

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) throws during a September 8, 2025 game
Sep 8, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) throws against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Why Tatsuya Imai Could Be Cubs' Shota Imanaga Replacement

On the bright side, the Cubs will have plenty of replacement options available in free agency if Imanaga's time in Chicago has indeed ended.

One potential option is 28-year-old Japanese hurler Tatsuya Imai, who is expected to be posted by his Seibu Lions NPB team this winter. And in a November 7 article, Sports Illustrated's Will Laws and Nick Selbe predicted that Imai will end up with the Cubs.

Imai being a potential Imanaga replacement doesn't just make sense because they're both from Japan. Instead, Imai will likely come at an affordable price compared to MLB hurlers with similar talent, if only because he hasn't proven himself on baseball's biggest stage quite yet.

Not to mention that Imai (who is listed at 5'11", 155 pounds) has a relatively similar frame compared to Imanaga, who is listed at 5'10" and 175 pounds. Some MLB teams would probably be more hesitant to give a smaller pitcher like this a multi-year deal, but the Cubs already proved that they don't measure height that highly when deciding to allocate money to.

The Cubs have had success with several Japanese players over the years, including Imanaga, Seiya Suzuki, and Yu Darvish. Imai could be the best such player to make an impact at Wrigley Field, and could perhaps be a key component to Chicago making a deep postseason run in 2026.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Boxing, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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