Report: SF Giants rumored free-agent target will visit teams next week

Rumored SF Giants free agent target Shōta Imanaga is expected to visit his preferred destinations next week as he nears a decision, per Alex Speier.

The SF Giants have been tied to posted Yokohama DeNA BayStars ace Shōta Imanaga (#12-ranked free agent) throughout the offseason, especially after they lost out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto (#2-ranked free agent). As the Giants try to salvage a successful offseason after the failed pursuits of Shohei Ohtani and Yamamoto, there is a growing expectation that San Francisco will land one of the top remaining left-handed starting pitchers, like Imanaga or Blake Snell (#6-ranked free agent). According to a report by Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, Imanaga is expected to travel stateside next week and visit MLB teams before making his decision.

"One update to yesterday’s look at potential Red Sox pitching targets post-Yamamoto: Shōta Imanaga is now planning on coming to the US *after* the new year," Speier wrote in a tweet. "With Yamamoto off the market, he’s now fielding offers, with talks expected to extend beyond Xmas."

Imanaga, who turned 30 in September, made 22 starts atop the BayStars rotation this season. He recorded a 2.80 ERA with 174 strikeouts and just 24 walks in 148 innings pitched. This spring, before the season, Imanaga rounded out an incredible rotation with Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic that also featured Ohtani, Yamamoto, Yu Darvish, and Roki Sasaki. Imanaga allowed two runs on a pair of solo homers across six innings pitched (three appearances) with seven strikeouts and zero walks.

Imanaga reached the highest level of the NPB at 22. Over eight seasons, Imanaga has recorded a 3.18 ERA with 1021 strikeouts and 280 walks in 1002.2 innings pitched (165 games). It's also worth noting that Imanaga's career numbers are heavily inflated by a disastrous 2018 campaign, where he posted a 6.80 ERA and surrendered 18 home runs in 84.2 innings pitched. His career ERA in the NPB drops from 3.18 to 2.84 by omitting that lone season.

Imanaga has a four-pitch arsenal and has flashed the ability to generate whiffs with all of his offerings. The closest recent NPB to MLB statistical comp is Yusei Kikuchi, but even that seems imperfect since Imanaga's arsenal has the potential to be far more overpowering and it's hard to know exactly how much weight to put in Imanaga's 2018 season. Imanaga has posted elite strikeout and walk rates, but also occasionally struggled to limit home runs. While they attack hitters in different ways, Imanaga's profile has some statistical similarities with Andrew Heaney.

With the two biggest names in free agency off the market, the remaining dominoes seem to be on the verge of falling. As the SF Giants eye solidifying their starting rotation behind Logan Webb, they will presumably be hosting Shōta Imanaga for an official visit next week if they are serious about adding him to the fold.