Shōta Imanaga endears himself to Cubs fans with team song: ‘Hey Chicago, what do you say?’

Major League Baseball

“We’re very excited to bring Shōta on board,” said Jed Hoyer, president of baseball operations for the Cubs. “He’s been a great teammate. He’s very curious. He has a reputation of being an exceptionally cerebral pitcher. … He wants to continue to get better, and that sounds like a perfect match for the Cubs.”

Imanaga, recognizable for throwback-style high socks, was 64-50 with a 3.18 ERA in eight seasons with Yokohama, striking out 1,021 and walking 280 in 1,002 2/3 innings. He also got the win for Japan in last year’s World Baseball Classic final against the United States.

“The experience of the World Baseball Classic made me think that there is more to baseball, more that I can improve on,” Imanaga said through an interpreter.

“And also, facing the hitters, they’re players of unimaginable talent over here and it made me want to apply myself and face them, face the challenge here.”

With Imanaga’s first major league contract, Chicago can exercise a 2028 option after 2025 or ’26. If the team declines the option in either instance, the pitcher would have the right to opt out of the remainder of the contract to become a free agent.

Chicago must pay a release fee of $9,825,000 to Yokohama under the posting agreement between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. The amount of the fee would increase if the option is exercised.

The addition of Imanaga was the first big player acquisition for Chicago since it hired Craig Counsell as manager in November, replacing David Ross in a surprise move. The Cubs were in position for an NL wild card last year before stumbling in September, fading to an 83-79 record after finishing under .500 in the previous two seasons.

Chicago acquired power-hitting infielder Michael Busch in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, and it is still shopping for help ahead of spring training. Cody Bellinger is a free agent after a resurgent season, and the Cubs are hoping to re-sign the slugger.

As Imanaga weighed his options, he did his homework on Chicago and his new team. He said he picked No. 18 in honor of Ben Zobrist, a three-time All-Star who was the World Series MVP when the Cubs won the title in 2016. He also spoke with former Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish about his transition to the majors.

“I asked him about what are the things that he placed emphasis on when picking the team, and I also talked to other players who played in (the) U.S. as well,” Imanaga said. “But they all said in unison that Chicago is a wonderful city.”

One of the biggest challenges for Imanaga is the usual schedule for a big league rotation. The norm for starting pitchers is four days of rest, compared to five or more in Japan.

“It’s a novel experience for me, so I want to keep an open mind and seek advice from a lot of people,” he said. “Luckily I have the time in spring training so I can talk to the manager and coaching staff, my teammates, and figure out what works for me.”

Counsell, who drew praise for how he handled his pitching staff during his nine seasons as Milwaukee’s manager, is keeping his options open when it comes to Imanaga’s adjustment to the majors.

“I think we have to be cognizant of how he has pitched in the past and the rest he has gotten in the past,” Counsell said, “and that’s going to inform our decisions. But at the same time, there’s going to be times when he’s going to pitch on four days and we know that.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.