Red Sox reportedly have interest in Japanese left-hander Shota Imanaga
The Red Sox are leaving no stone unturned as they look to add significant pieces to their rotation for 2024 and beyond. Boston has shown heavy interest in Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They have also been scouting left-hander Shota Imanaga, according to Yakyu Cosmopolitan.
Boston was in attendance alongside 13 other teams back in mid-September.
"The (Yokohama DeNA) BayStars plan to post Shōta Imanaga this offseason, and Major League teams generally view him as a No. 2 or 3 starter," MLB.com's Jon Morosi wrote in September. "Yakyu Cosmopolitan reported last week that 10 teams scouted Imanaga’s most recent start: the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Rangers, Phillies, Cubs, Reds, D-backs, Giants and Padres."
Imanaga hasn’t been connected to the Red Sox as much as Yamamoto. The 30-year-old posted a 2.71 ERA with 163 strikeouts, 21 walks, 1.02 WHIP in 136 innings spanning over 20 starts this season.
Due to Imanaga being an international free agent, he will not be subject to a qualifying offer but will require a posting fee.
Major League Baseball has seen the likes a Yu Darvish, Shohei Ohtani, Masahiro Tanaka have success in the states. Yamamoto and Imanaga will look to be the next wave of Japanese talents to impact a team’s starting rotation.
Imanaga was a member of Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic prior to the start of the 2023 season. He finished with a 3.00 ERA across 6.0 innings pitched and had seven strikeouts. He started the gold medal game against the United States and was credited with the win.
The Japanese star offers a fastball that sits in the mid-to-low 90’s, a splitter, a cutter and a curveball. The righty focuses on controlling the strike zone to handle opposing hitters versus dominating the zone.
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