Cubs may have actually gotten their ace in free agency after all

Whether it was before or after the Chicago Cubs eventually locked in Cody Bellinger to return to Wrigley Field this season, there was a refrain among both analysts and fans: The Cubs need to go get an ace for the rotation.

Justin Steele was a legitimate Cy Young candidate but, with the loss of Marcus Stroman this offseason in addition to falling short of the postseason a year ago, the idea of a Cubs adding an ace was widely discussed. Free agents Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery were often floated as options, but so too were trade options like Dylan Cease or Shane Bieber for Chicago.

But as the 2024 season has gotten underway, it's starting to look more and more like the Cubs already had their ace on the staff already thanks to an early offseason signing: Japanese star Shota Imanaga.

Shota Imanaga has been the ace the Cubs were looking for all along

On Saturday on the road against the Mariners, Imanaga was on the bump and, once again, was lights-out. He lasted 5.1 innings and allowed only five hits and two walks with no earned runs while striking out four. Imanaga did see an unearned run cross the plate, but his effort wholly propelled the Cubs to a nice 4-1 win.

And that has just been the theme with Imanaga to begin his MLB career in Chicago. He made the Rockies look like fools on April 1, his major league debut, after going 6.0 innings and allowing just two hits while striking out nine. He followed that up against the vaunted Dodgers on April 7 and, though he was pulled after 43 pitches in 4.0 innings, he still allowed no runs on two hits and no walks while striking out three. Then we had the gem against Seattle.

Imanaga is now 2-0 to start the season with a pristine 0.00 ERA over his first three starts in MLB. He also has the fifth-best WHIP in the majors among starting pitchers at 0.72 and has struck out 16 in 15.1 total innings this season. He's been the goods and, frankly, has been more dominant to start the year than his higher-priced Japanese counterpart, Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

What's even more favorable to the Cubs, though, is that they didn't have to pay the Yamamoto price tag to get a pitcher who has been arguably more effective. Whereas the Dodgers signed their newcomer to a 12-year, $325 million contract, Chicago landed Imanaga for a bargain at four-year, $53 million deal.

Even if Imanaga is five years Yamamoto's senior, that's still a drastically different price for a player who has truly looked the part of an ace for the Cubs thus frar in his young MLB career.

Of course, this is very much an episode of small-sample-size-theater. There's a lot that can change beyond three games and 15.1 innings. But these early returns for the Cubs with Imanaga are better than even the most ardent optimist could've foreseen. And if it continues, Chicago could be in a much better position this season than previously expected overall.