Inside The Cubs

Chicago Cubs' Ace Creates Viral Post Hyping Up Their Star Offseason Acquisition

One Chicago Cubs starting pitcher is already very impressed with one of the club's new rookies after seeing him pitch.

Jack Vita

Chicago Cubs' Ace Creates Viral Post Hyping Up Their Star Offseason Acquisition
Chicago Cubs' Ace Creates Viral Post Hyping Up Their Star Offseason Acquisition /
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Shota Imanaga hasn't even been with the Chicago Cubs for a full month, but the Japanese sensation is already turning heads in the early days of spring training.

All pitchers and catchers will report to Cubs camp by next Wednesday, but some players have already arrived in Mesa, Arizona.

According to Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele, the 30 year-old rookie and two-time NPB All-Star threw a bullpen session Wednesday, and Steele was quite impressed.

Steele took to X (formerly Twitter) to share some thoughts on his first time watching Imanaga throw. 

"I watched Shota Imanaga throw a bullpen today.. I’m on eBay now looking for cards," Steele posted. "Guy is filthy."

Less than 15 minutes later, Major League Baseball's official Twitter account quote-tweeted Steele's post, adding an eyes emoji.

The popular baseball podcast Talkin Baseball (from Jomboy Media) responded to Steele's post shortly after.

Without question, the price of Imanaga's baseball cards will likely see a boost in the coming days, thanks to Steele's endorsement.

Steele emerged as Chicago's ace in 2023, making a serious run at the National League Cy Young Award. He finished fifth in voting after posting a 16-5 record and 3.06 ERA across 173 1/3 innings pitched over 30 starts on the season.

The Cubs signed Imanaga to a four-year, $53 million deal on Jan. 11.

He is a shoo-in for a spot in the starting pitching rotation, along with Steele, Kyle Hendricks and Jameson Taillon. It appears that Javier Assad and rookie Jordan Wicks will compete for the fifth and final spot in the club's pitching rotation.

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Jack Vita
JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Cubs, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.

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