MLB Rumors: Cubs Imanaga update, Braves low-key move, Jorge Soler market

MLB Rumors: Latest Cubs update on Shota Imanaga sounds pessimistic

It was recently reported that the market for one of the best starting pitchers still on the market, 30-year-old Shota Imanaga, formerly of the Yokohama Bay Stars in the NPB in Japan, was down to four teams: the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants.

Given that the Cubs are the only team not to make an outside signing this offseason and Jed Hoyer's insistence that Chicago is going to move to be a contender -- they have been involved in big markets, but with nothing to show for it -- landing Imanaga would be a huge step in the right direction. But one has to wonder how seriously they are involved in this market, especially with three contenders that could be highly (and financially) motivated to land the Japanese veteran.

Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic ($) broke down the Cubs' current position with Imanaga and, while they certainly considered it still a possibility, the tone of how they discussed the matter didn't sound remotely positive.

Jed Hoyer’s front office is keeping Imanaga on the radar and working through various ideas to improve the pitching staff, which would at least involve adding a starting pitcher and two solid relievers. Hoyer, the team’s president of baseball operations, personally scouted Imanaga in September as part of a long-awaited trip to Japan to evaluate players and make more international connections. The Cubs are in the mix, but their deliberate, rational approach to free agency has created questions about their willingness to win bidding wars. This is a team that still hasn’t signed a free-agent player to a major-league contract this offseason.

Yes, the Cubs' interest and desire to sign Imanaga seems quite real. However, the note that this team appears to be almost too deliberate with how they've negotiated to this point won't make any fan ready to attend Wrigley Field in the 2024 season feel the good kind of butterflies in their stomachs.

Maybe Imanaga is the right type of player in the current market that will make the Cubs want to spend up. Given what we've seen to this point in the offseason and the tone with with which Chicago's interest is being mentioned, it's hard to feel great about their chances almost until the point that he signs on the dotted line.