As soon as left-hander Shota Imanaga signed his four-year, $53 million contract with the Cubs before the 2024 season, it was clear his first two years in the majors were going to be pivotal.
The unique structure gave the Cubs the option after the second or third year to extend the pact to five years and $80 million guaranteed. But if they didn’t, Imanaga could opt out either year and, unless he agreed to a one-year qualifying offer, test free agency.
This offseason, the Cubs are faced with that decision for the first time.
“When we signed Shota, if he’d shown us his production over the last two years, we would have taken that in a heartbeat,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said in his end-of-season news conference Wednesday. “Not only has he produced for us, but he’s a great teammate, a terrific asset to the organization. Obviously, we have decisions to make, and we’ll have discussions, and over the next two or three weeks, we’ll do that. But I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about Shota.”
Hoyer stopped short of calling it a no-brainer. But Imanaga has been a rotation staple and fan favorite the last two years.
He set the bar high in his first season, finishing fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting and fifth for the Cy Young.
A hamstring injury interrupted his 2025 season and contributed to an inconsistent second half and postseason. But he still had a 3.73 ERA, and the Cubs have an offseason plan for him to address some of the movement-pattern issues they identified after the injury.
The Cubs, who deemed the price for frontline starting pitching at the trade deadline to be too high, know as well as any team how in demand free-agent pitchers will be in the offseason.
If they don’t pick up Imanaga’s three-year club option for 2026-28, Imanaga is expected to decline his $15 million player option for 2026.
Weighing in on Tucker
Right fielder Kyle Tucker is set to enter free agency after an up-and-down platform year with the Cubs.
“When we were at our best, Kyle was at his best and vice versa,” Hoyer said. “There’s no question he had a huge impact on his team.”
Hoyer emphasized the totality of the season rather than Tucker’s red-hot start and second-half slump and calf injury. Tucker finished the year with an .841 OPS and 4.5 WAR, according to FanGraphs.
“Kyle has a big decision,’’ Hoyer said. “He’s earned the right to not only be a free agent, but to be a coveted free agent. And so I would expect that they’ll play their cards close to the vest, but I know he had a good experience [in Chicago].”
Gold Glove finalists
The Cubs led the NL with six Gold Glove finalists, as announced by Rawlings.
Left-handed pitcher Matthew Boyd, catcher Carson Kelly, second baseman Nico Hoerner, third baseman Matt Shaw, left fielder Ian Happ and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong are in the top three in their respective position groups. The winners are set to be announced Nov. 2.
