Report: SF Giants, Angels are 'final candidates' for LHP Shōta Imanaga

The SF Giants and Los Angeles Angels are the “final candidates” for posted NPB star Shōta Imanaga, according to a report by Sankei Sports.

A day after the SF Giants managed to acquire Robbie Ray via trade, San Francisco is reportedly pursuing another left-handed starting pitcher. According to a report by Sankei Sports on Saturday morning, the Giants and Los Angeles Angels are the “final candidates” for posted Yokohama DeNa BayStars starting pitcher Shōta Imanaga (#12-ranked free agent). Jim Bowden of The Athletic had previously reported that the Angels and Giants were among four finalists for Imanaga.

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

"It was revealed on January 6th that the Giants and Angels are the leading candidates for pitcher Shōta Imanaga (30), who is aiming to transfer to the U.S. Major League Baseball through the posting system from DeNA, according to sources in the baseball world," Sankei Sports wrote (translated from Japanese via Google Translate, Yandex Translate, and DeepL Translate). While the article refers to the Giants and Angels as "leading candidates" the article headline refers to them as the "final candidates."

This report suggests the Giants remain interested in adding a top free-agent starting pitcher, even after adding Ray. Something that remained uncertain. Since the report cites a conversation with sources on the 6th, it seems highly likely that those conversations took place after the Ray trade was finalized. While Japan is 17 hours ahead of California, news of the Ray trade broke on January 6th at 4:38 AM.

It has remained uncertain whether the Giants would stop pursuing another top starting pitcher in free agency. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that they remained aggressive, but deleted the Tweet shortly after. Bowden reported that the Giants were involved, but were not prioritizing Imanaga. Sankei Sports' report now suggests the Giants are either hotly pursuing the 30-year-old southpaw or are being used to try and leverage a more significant offer from the Angels. Either way, Imanaga's posting period sets a firm deadline on January 11th, which will lead to a resolution soon.

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.

Imanaga was drafted by the BayStars with the first overall pick in the 2015 NPB Draft. He quickly reached the highest level of the NPB at 22. He debuted with the team in 2016 and immediately solidified himself as a key member of the starting rotation. For the first four seasons of his career, Imanaga was teammates with slugger Yoshi Tsutsugo before he headed stateside to try and find a role in MLB. Tsutsugo signed a minor-league contract with the Giants this summer and has received an invite to big-league camp.

Over his eight NPB seasons, Imanaga recorded a 3.18 ERA with 1021 strikeouts and 280 walks in 1002.2 innings pitched (165 games). It's also worth noting that Imanaga's career numbers are heavily inflated by a disastrous 2018 campaign, where he posted a 6.80 ERA and surrendered 18 home runs in 84.2 innings pitched. His career ERA in the NPB drops from 3.18 to 2.84 by omitting that lone season.

Imanaga has a four-pitch arsenal and has flashed the ability to generate whiffs with all of his offerings. The closest recent NPB to MLB statistical comp is Yusei Kikuchi, but even that seems imperfect since his arsenal has the potential to be far more overpowering and it's hard to know exactly how much weight to put in Imanaga's 2018 season. Imanaga has posted elite strikeout and walk rates but also struggled to limit home runs, a profile that would seem to benefit from playing home games at Oracle Park.

The Angels are one of the few other teams that have seemed willing to spend this offseason and been tied to some top remaining starting pitcher other than the Giants. Both teams have been connected to reigning National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell (#6-ranked free agent). Needless to say, if both teams are interested in Snell, it makes sense that they would be open to Imanaga as well. 

Given the Angels' disastrous circumstances following the departure of Shohei Ohtani in free agency, it sure seems like the Giants should be able to offer a more enticing situation to Imanaga. Of course, that's far easier to say from the outside looking in without knowledge of the potential offers on the table.

If the SF Giants land Shōta Imanaga, he would begin the season as the team's number-two starter behind ace Logan Webb. The pressure on Imanaga to be an elite arm, however, could dissipate as the season progresses and veterans like Alex Cobb and Ray return to the field from injuries.