Shōta Imanaga Expected to be Posted Soon
According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, left-handed pitcher Shota Imanaga is expected to be posted by Monday, Nov. 27.
Imanaga, 30, has spent eight seasons with the Yokohama Dena Baystars. During the 2023 season, he had a 2.80 ERA over the course of 20 games with a 10.6 K/9 and just 1.5 BB/9.
During the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he pitched in three games, giving up just two earned runs in six innings. He was credited with the win for Team Japan in the WBC Final. During that game, he threw two innings and gave up one earned run, a solo home run to the red-hot Trea Turner.
The two-time All-Star has a 3.18 ERA over the course of his career. His fastball sits around the low 90s and reaches the mid-90s. He also carries a splitter that sits around the mid-80s, a slider that sits low to mid-80s, and a curveball that ranges around 70+ mph.
The DeNA BayStars have officially approved the posting request by Shōta Imanaga.
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) November 11, 2023
Upon posting, Imanaga will be free to negotiate a contract with all 30 MLB teams for 45 days. The New York Mets are expected to be a team that pursues Imanaga, along with Japanese star right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was officially posted on Monday. The timing allows for Imanaga a few days to negotiate with teams that missed out on Yamamoto’s window.
MLB Trade Rumors predicts that Imanaga will get a five-year, $85 million deal, which would come with a $13.875MM release fee owed to the BayStars on top of the contract itself.
The Mets struck gold once recently signing a Japanese starter when they agreed to give Kodai Senga a five-year, $75 million deal last offseason, and he went on to finish in the top 10 of NL Cy Young voting and second in the NL Rookie of the Year.
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