2023-11-13 20:49:55
Shota Imanaga, a left-handed pitcher for Japan’s Yokohama Bay Stars, is expected to be “released” for Major League Baseball consideration on Monday, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Once Imanaga is officially released, he will have up to 45 days to negotiate with MLB teams.
Imanaga, 30, has posted a 2.96 ERA and a 3.93 strikeout-to-walk ratio in more than 1,120 career innings in the Nippon Professional Baseball League. CBS Sports recently ranked him as the 42nd best free agent available this winter. This is what we wrote at the time:
Imanaga, who was previously part of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars rotation, loves his low-90s fastball. He threw it about 60% of the time last season, while posting a usage rate over 15% in just one other offering, his control sliding. Imanaga relies on forcing out-of-zone switches on his heater, something he did to great effect in Japan. It remains to be seen whether his American counterparts pursue them as frequently. Imanaga generated close to 40% of his strikeouts with his slider and he may need to balance his arsenal more to be effective as a starter in the MLB.
The posting system is essentially MLB’s version of the transfer portal for NPB and Korea Baseball Organization players. Players who do not qualify for outright free agency can be “released” by their foreign teams. Those teams, in turn, receive a posting fee based on the player’s MLB deal.
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