Chicago Cubs Linked to Surprising Japanese Pitcher in Free Agency

The Chicago Cubs could be in the market for this Japanese starting pitcher this offseason as they continue looking to add arms.

There's a lot of speculation about who the top targets are for the Chicago Cubs this offseason as they look to build a contending roster.

Slugging stars like Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman have been rumored to be part of their list. They also are rumored to be interested in adding arms, whether that's starting pitching, bullpen pieces or both.

One of the most coveted players coming over from Japan is Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

While the Cubs have been linked to the phenom previously, Andy McCullough of The Athletic thinks that they're going to sign another Japanese pitcher Shota Imanaga this offseason.

"They will almost certainly land one of the starting pitchers, which is the deepest group on this market. Imanaga has not yet officially been posted by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, but he is still expected to make the jump this winter, where scouts believe his changeup will be able to fool big-league hitters," he writes.

He's spent eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball where he has compiled a record of 64-50 with an ERA of 3.18 across over 1,000 innings pitched. Imanaga has also struck out 1,021 batters and only walked 280.

The 30-year-old would be an interesting pivot for Chicago if they aren't able to land one of the high-profile players like Ohtani, Yamamoto or Blake Snell.

Imanaga is certainly one of the better pitching options out there, but doesn't quite have the same hype surrounding him like the others.

If the Cubs do sign the left-hander, he would certainly factor into their rotation at the beginning of the season, but likely wouldn't carry the ace status that the other names previously listed would.