Braves Rumors: Anthopoulos surprise, Braves trade assets, Cease package

Braves Rumors: Could Alex Anthopoulos acquire Shota Imanaga?

The Braves clearly need some rotation help this offseason. Charlie Morton is a year old, Max Fried is coming off injury. Bryce Elder is a candidate to regress to the norm after a breakout season. While Atlanta has been linked to some big names like Dylan Cease, Aaron Nola and Sonny Gray (the latter two they did not sign), perhaps a more modest pickup is in order as well.

Atlanta's in a division loaded with left-handed power bats. Yet, they only possess one lefty starting pitcher in Morton, and he's over 40 years old. Could left-handed pitcher Shota Imanaga -- who was posted just a short while ago -- be the answer?

Fred Owens over at The House That Hank Built did a great job outlining Imanaga's stats, and even comparing him to former MLB starter Trevor Bauer, who played on the same teams as Imanaga in NPB.

"He (Imanaga) isn’t a top-of-the-rotation arm like Yamamoto; he’s more of a pitchability lefty who attacks batters with strikes all around the zone using a four-pitch mix that includes a fastball, curve, cutter/slider, and splitter," Owens wrote.

The Bauer comparison is striking, as Imanaga actually outranks him in several key categories.

"In 2023, he pitched to a 2.80 ERA, 1.054 WHIP, striking out 174 and walking 24 in 148 IP over 22 starts...(Bauer) pitched to a 2.76 ERA, 3.03 RA/G, 1.148 WHIP, striking out 130 and walking 31 in 130 2/3 IP over 19 starts," Owens continued.

There would surely be a learning curve for someone like Imanaga, who relies heavily on his control. However, his 'pitchability' -- as Owens notes -- should translate quite easily.