Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow can cross another name off his list — and not in the way he would hope —as the Red Sox have lost out on yet another race for a notable free agent.
And the loss comes at the hands of Breslow’s old club, the Chicago Cubs, who have put the pen to paper with Japanese pitcher Shota Imanaga on a multi-year contract.
According to multiple baseball insiders, Imanaga’s deal with the Cubs is loaded with various options, esclators, and options that can make it ‘complicated’ to know the full scope of its value. But at the very least, it will be for $30 million over two years, according to a Tuesday evening update from Jon Heyman.
MIAMI, FLORIDA – MARCH 21: Shota Imanaga #21 of Team Japan pitches in the first inning against Team USA during the World Baseball Classic Championship at loanDepot park on March 21, 2023. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Considered to be among that second tier of free-agent pitching options behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Imanaga hit the open market in search of an MLB contract after a 2023 campaign that featured a 7-5 record, 2.66 ERA, and career-high 188 strikeouts for Yokohama.
And when talking about Imanaga, you were talking about a pitcher with a straight-up deep arsenal, with the ability to work in six different pitches with considerable regularity. Overall, the 5-foot-10 Imanaga was moving to the MLB after a career that included a 74-55 record and 2.96 ERA in eight seasons in Japan.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – OCTOBER 28: Jordan Montgomery #52 of the Texas Rangers pitches in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks during Game Two of the World Series at Globe Life Field. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
As for where the Red Sox go from here, it’s of course worth noting that both Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell remain in search of homes for the 2024 season. Both players seemingly represent the ‘best options remaining’ on the market’s starting pitching front, but recent reports have indicated that they are — and this is going to shock you, I know — out of Boston’s price range.
There’s also other second-tier options such as Marcus Stroman, Mike Clevinger, and James Paxton.
