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For now, the Chicago Cubs and Shota Imanaga are sizing up the future — with and without each other. After the World Series, both sides had options on his current deal. The Cubs declined to exercise their options, and Imanaga followed by not exercising his option. Then, Chicago tendered him a qualifying offer of $22 million. He has until Nov. 18 to decide if he wants to accept or decline. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer was at the general managers' meetings in Las Vegas and talked about the decision not to exercise the option. Jed Hoyer on Shota Imanaga In speaking to a collection of reporters, including Marquee Sports, which broadcasts Cubs games, Hoyer said that neither side felt their options were the “right value.” “We obviously value Shota a ton,” Hoyer said. “I think he was amazing for us as a pitcher, as a teammate and, you know, I don't want to close that door completely by any stretch. But ultimately, we didn't think that the club option was the right value, he didn't think that the player option was the right value and, you know, that happens. "Clearly, we made him a qualifying offer and there's nothing that prohibits us from still talking to him. So, I don't want to close that door, but obviously, like I said, the way that we valued the club option, the way he valued the player option, [we] obviously we didn't meet up there.” The Cubs held a three-year option on Imanaga, part of the contract he signed in 2023. If Chicago had triggered it, it would have tied them to the pitcher for three more seasons at a cost of $57.75 million. After the Cubs turned down their option, Imanaga had the opportunity to trigger one of his own. He had a one-year option that was worth $15.25 million. He turned that down. So, the qualifying offer is more than the one-year option he would have gotten had he triggered his option. It’s also more than the average annual value of the three-year option that the Cubs declined. Imanaga was 24-11 with a 3.28 ERA in 54 starts in his two seasons with the Cubs. His rookie season was brilliant, as he went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 29 starts, with 174 strikeouts and 28 walks. He was an All-Star, finished fourth in National League rookie of the year, and fifth in NL Cy Young voting. Last season was tougher for the left-hander. He missed more than a month with a hamstring injury and went 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA. He struck out 117 and walked 26 in 25 starts. His strikeout rate per nine innings dropped from 9.0 in 2024 to 7.3 in 2025. The Latest Chicago Cubs News Drake Baldwin Gets Honest About Beating Cubs' Cade Horton For Rookie of the Year Award Cubs 'Perfect Move' Could Be Signing Top Free Agent Ace This Offseason Why Pete Crow-Armstrong Rejecting Cubs Contract Extension Isn’t The Full Story
