MLB Rumors: Red Sox-Cease trade package, Cardinals still shopping, Giants-Imanaga
- Potential Dylan Cease-Red Sox trade package
- Cardinals pull off deal for former all-star reliever
- Shota Imanaga not seen as top priority for the Giants
MLB Rumors: Shota Imanaga not seen as top priority for the Giants
On Friday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic mentioned the San Francisco Giants as one of the four finalists for Japanese left-handed starting pitcher Shota Imanaga. That fit made sense with the Giants in need of some rotation help and needing to make an additional splash even after adding Jung Hoo Lee in free agency and trading for Robbie Ray.
While it appeared the Imanaga to the Giants was a very real possibility on Friday, Bowden now appears to connect San Francisco to a wide variety of targets not including Imanaga.
The #Giants remain iinvolved in a wide range of free agent targets after the acquisition of Ray but are not focused on Imanaga as a priority at this point in time according to industry sources.
— Jim Bowden⚾️🏈 (@JimBowdenGM) January 6, 2024
Who the Giants could be focused on remains to be seen, but Giants fans can only hope it's the top-end free agents. With the departure of Mitch Haniger in the Robbie Ray trade, perhaps Cody Bellinger becomes a possibility. With Ray not being able to pitch until around or after the all-star break, perhaps the Giants are looking at starting pitchers like Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery, who are the best options available in free agency.
This doesn't mean the Giants are out or will not sign Imanaga, but with his posting window coming to a close in just a matter of days, it certainly doesn't sound like the San Francisco will be Imanaga's landing spot. If they're not prioritizing him now, it's hard to see that changing before Jan. 11, which is the last day of Imanaga's 45-day window.
All Giants fans hope really is for the team to keep going. The additions they've made have made the team better undoubtedly, but they have a lot of work in front of them to compete with teams like the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in a really tough NL West.