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Facing a Jan. 11 deadline to sign with an MLB team, Shōta Imanaga’s list of suitors is coming into focus.
Per Jon Heyman of MLB Network and the New York Post, the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox are among the five teams believed to still be “in play” for the Japanese left-hander.
Heyman noted the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels appear to be out of the running and have turned their focus in free agency elsewhere.
The Giants potentially missing out on Imanaga is interesting on multiple levels. For one, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported Monday that all signs were pointing to the 30-year-old signing with San Francisco.
“It’s all pointing to the Giants,” one source told Feinsand. “They missed out on [Shohei] Ohtani and [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto, and although Imanaga isn’t on the same level as those guys, they don’t want to miss out again.”
This would also be yet another instance of the Giants being in the mix for a high-profile free agent, but being unable to close the deal with a contract.
Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are among the notable free agents the Giants have been connected to in the past two years who signed elsewhere. They did get an agreement done with Carlos Correa last offseason, but the deal fell apart due to concerns from the team about his ankle that popped up in a physical.
The Cubs, Angels and Red Sox have been scouring the market for pitching help. Boston has been cited by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal as a team with serious interest in acquiring Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox.
The Athletic’s Jim Bowden said on Monday’s episode of the Foul Territory Podcast (h/t Evan Altman of CubsInsider.com) that Chicago has made “significant offers” to several free agents, including Jordan Montgomery.
Los Angeles is seemingly trying to ease the sting of Ohtani leaving by making at least one big splash in free agency. The Angels are considered the “strongest suitor” right now for reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell, per USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale.
Each of the reported finalists for Imanaga needs to add at least one starting pitcher. The Cubs and Red Sox are in some ways the most desperate due to their limited activity this offseason.
Imanaga’s 45-day posting window expires on Jan. 11, meaning he would have to return to the Yokohama DeNA BayStars if he goes unsigned by an MLB team. There seems to be little chance of that scenario playing out.
The southpaw is a two-time NPB All-Star and led the Central League with 174 strikeouts in 148 innings last season.
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