Posting announcement of NPB strikeout leader to be Monday

Nov 11, 2023

BayStars pitcher Shota Imanaga throws a pitch on his way to a no-hitter against the Nippon Ham Fighters in an interleague baseball game at Sapporo Dome on Tuesday. | KYODO — Photo Courtesy of KYODO via the Japan Times

The announcement of NPB all-star pitcher Shonta Imanaga impending posting will be on Monday. He is expected to be posted sometime after that according to Jon Heyman of the NY Post. Imanaga posting will allow him to sign with any major league baseball team. Several teams around the league will have interest in the talented lefty.

While Imanaga doesn’t have the same hype as fellow countrymen Yoshinobu Yamamoto, he still had an excellent year. The 30-year-old started in 24 games compiling a 2.66 ERA with 10.6 K/9, and also was the winning pitcher in the WBC championship against the USA.

His K rate was good enough to lead all of the NPB with 174 strikeouts. He showed great command with only 28 walks (four intentional) in 148 innings pitches this past season. Over his eight year career he has posted a 3.18 ERA.

His arsenal includes a fastball, slider, and his best pitch the changeup. The fastball velocity sits around 91 mph. Imanaga relies more on his off-speed and his overall control. In a strong major league rotation he would be considered a number four with upside to be a number three.

Any contract projection is hard to gauge as interest around the league on any player isn’t always fully known. This is especially true with international players as we saw last season with outfielder Masataka Yoshida.

No one had the Red Sox heavily linked to him. Some around the game were reportedly surprised how high of a contract he got. Yoshida was posted and in less than 48 hours he agreed to a five-year, $90 million deal with Boston.

The projections for Imanaga is different depending on where you look. Tim Britton of The Athletic has projected a deal will be at 4 years for $54 million. MLB Trade Rumors has the southpaw getting five-year, $85 million deal.

Even if Imanaga got the larger of the two contracts, he could very well end up being the steal of the offseason. Command typically translates in any league. A potential number three starter for $17 million over the next five years would end up looking like a bargain as MLB contracts continue to rise.