The Chicago Cubs are a team that many people will be keeping a close eye on this offseason. Their biggest national storyline is the future of right fielder Kyle Tucker.
Will he return to the Cubs on a long-term deal after they traded Cam Smith, Isaac Paredes, and Hayden Wesneski to the Houston Astros to acquire him? Or will he find a lucrative offer from another team around the league?
There are going to be plenty of suitors for the four-time All-Star. Alas, his future isn’t the only one that is up in the air heading into the offseason.
Chicago also has to figure out what to do with starting pitcher Shota Imanaga. As Mark Feinsand of MLB.com detailed, there are several scenarios that could play out stemming from the four-year, $53 million deal that he originally signed when coming over from Japan.
Right now, the Cubs hold all the power. They can exercise a club option that would pay Imanaga $57 million over three years; $20 million in 2026 and 2027, and $17 million in 2028.
If they decide against that, Imanaga has the ability to trigger a player option for $15 million in 2026. Chicago would then have the opportunity to add two years and $42 million onto the deal for 2027 and 2028. Or, he would have another player option worth $15 million for 2027.
That is a lot to sort through, but there is one clear-cut path that makes the most sense for both sides: the Cubs triggering the three-year, $57 million deal by exercising the first club option.
Such a scenario would lock Imanaga in with Chicago, guaranteed, through his age-34 campaign. The team’s starting rotation would then gain some much-needed stability with the talented lefty locked in.
For a franchise that is so meticulous, and in the opinion of some in the fan base, cheap, when it comes to the payroll, having a front-end starter set in stone for three years at an affordable price is ideal.
A $19 million AAV over three years would have Imanaga tied with Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves as the 25th highest-paid starting pitcher. That is a ranking that will almost assuredly move down with some of the players set to hit the market in the coming weeks and in future winters over the duration of the contract.
Thus far in his MLB career, Imanaga has provided the team with steady production near the top of the rotation. He has a 3.28 ERA across 318 innings with 291 strikeouts and 4.5 bWAR.
An All-Star during his rookie campaign, he also finished fifth in the National League Cy Young Award voting in 2024. Replicating that success is far from a guarantee, but he has proven to be a very quality starting pitcher.
That is something the Cubs need more of, especially with Justin Steele’s inability to stay healthy. Having the ability to lock Imanaga into an affordable deal for multiple seasons should appeal to Chicago and is the right decision to make.
