SF Giants insider clarifies weird whirlwind of Shōta Imanaga rumors

Despite multiple reports suggesting otherwise, it seems Chicago Cubs free-agent signing Shōta Imanaga was never a top SF Giants target.

The SF Giants seemed to have fallen short in pursuit of a free-agent target once again this week when left-handed pitcher Shōta Imanaga  (#12-ranked free agent) agreed to a four-year, $53 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. Several different reports listed the Giants among one of the finalists for Imanaga, making it seem like the longtime NPB star would land in San Francisco. Many fans were obviously disapointed to see another potential free agent target spurn the Giants. However, a report by NBC Sports Bay Area's Giants insider Alex Pavlovic claimed the team's interest had been overstated by other media members.

Team Japan SP Shota Imanaga pitches against Team USA at LoanDepot Park. (2023) / Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports

"I’ve seen a lot of confusion about Giants/Imanaga," Pavlovic wrote in a tweet. "they were never a frontrunner here, people just went wild with rumors. They view him as more of a back-end starter and prefer other guys (they still plan to add to rotation)."

It's easy to see why Imanaga was connected with the Giants. After trading veteran righty Anthony DeSclafani for former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray, who is currently recovering from UCL surgery, San Francisco has just one starter slated to be healthy on Opening Day coming off a solid big-league season (Logan Webb). While the team still has veteran Ross Stripling and a plethora of young pitchers, like top prospects Kyle Harrison, Keaton Winn, Tristan Beck, Kai-Wei Teng, and Mason Black, there is a clear spot for a proven veteran.

Imanaga, who turned 30 in September, made 22 starts atop the BayStars rotation this season. He recorded a 2.80 ERA with 174 strikeouts and just 24 walks in 148 innings pitched. This spring, before the season, he rounded out an incredible rotation with Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic that also featured Ohtani, Yamamoto, Yu Darvish, and Roki Sasaki. He allowed two runs on a pair of solo homers across six innings pitched (three appearances) with seven strikeouts and zero walks.

Despite his success abroad, many teams and evaluators were concerned about Imanaga's ability to transition into even a mid-rotation starter in MLB. He tended to be home run prone at times, raising questions about how he will fair against the more power-heavy lineups in MLB.

Clearly the SF Giants were among the teams with concerns, which explains their less significant level of interest. However, if they want to add a prominent free-agent starting pitcher, the options are dwindling. Of the 21 starters who ranked among the top-50 free agents, only Jordan Montgomery (#5-ranked), Blake Snell (#6), Marcus Stroman (#16), Clayton Kershaw (#17), and James Paxton (#43) remain unsigned.