The baseball world is waiting for the next big free agent domino to fall as notable names like Blake Snell, Josh Hader, Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman remain available.
It remains to be seen whether any of those players will sign this week, but another prominent free agent will almost certainly be off the board by Thursday: Shōta Imanaga.
The Japanese left-hander's posting deadline expires Thursday at 5 p.m. ET. So if he wants to move to Major League Baseball, Imanaga must sign with a club before that deadline.
The Giants, Red Sox, Cubs and Angels have been named finalists for Imanaga by sources, but one source said San Francisco could emerge as the favorite.
“Everything points to the Giants,” the source said. “You missed it [Shohei] Ohtani and [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto, and even though Imanaga isn’t on the same level as those guys, they don’t want to miss it again.”
Imanaga is expected to receive more than the five-year, $75 million contract Kodai Senga signed with the Mets last offseason, although less than Snell or Jordan Montgomery will expect if they ultimately sign.
Farhan Zaidi, the Giants' president of baseball operations, confirmed last week that the club had “had discussions” with Imanaga's representatives, adding that the left-hander “did a really good job there and has a pretty active free- Agent market has”.
While the Giants could emerge as the favorite for Imanaga, the Angels – who have a greater need for a starter – cannot be ruled out. Los Angeles signed Zach Plesac last week, but the rotation remains thin. The Red Sox are another club that could still opt for Imanaga, who would become Boston's only left-handed starter following the recent trade of Chris Sale to the Braves and the signing of Lucas Giolito.
Then there are the Mets, who got solid results from Senga in his rookie season. New York added Luis Severino, Adrian Houser and Sean Manaea this winter, and according to a source, new president of baseball operations David Stearns is “actively trying to trade” in exchange for more starting pitching. It remains to be seen whether the Mets are looking to add an impactful starter or simply looking for rotation depth, but based on their respective prices, they are not believed to be in the mix for Snell or Montgomery.
Imanaga is 64-50 with a 3.18 ERA in 165 games during his Nippon Professional Baseball career from 2016-23. Last season, he posted a 2.66 ERA in 24 starts and struck out 188 batters in 159 innings. The left-hander also helped Team Japan win the World Baseball Classic title last spring.