Copyright Newsweek
Coming into the offseason, the Chicago Cubs had a hole in their pitching rotation, but it grew even larger after a shocking turn of events turned Shota Imanaga loose in free agency. The Cubs declined a conditional club option on his deal, which activated a player option in Imanaga's deal that he quickly declined. As a result, he sits in free agency, and every top team could be vying for his services. CBS Sports' RJ Anderson recently projected Imanaga would sign a solid two-year contract worth $50 million this winter. "Imanaga joined the class after the Cubs declined a three-year option worth nearly $60 million," Anderson wrote. "Imanaga, for his part, then rejected what amounted to a pair of one-year options worth $15 million. He did show some signs of slippage last season, but I think a team will welcome him in for more than he would've earned on a rate basis for something along the lines of last winter's Nathan Eovaldi contract." It was a head-scratching decision for the Cubs to make, but they opted to do it anyway. The Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to pursue the star lefty, but every other potential contending team should be doing the same thing. Imanaga should land a deal slightly richer than the $50 million projected by Anderson, but it's hard to imagine him signing a deal like the other top free agent arms are expected.
