Japan's Shōta Imanaga Posted Amid Yankees, Dodgers Rumors in 2023 MLB Free Agency

The Yokohama DeNA BayStars posted starting pitcher Shōta Imanaga, according to Kyodo News.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand ranked the left-hander as the No. 15 free agent this offseason on Nov. 5 and listed off the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners as potential landing spots.

Will Laws and Nick Selbe of Sports Illustrated predicted he could sign with the New York Yankees.

ESPN's Jesse Rogers also reported Nov. 16 that the Chicago Cubs are "in" on Imanaga and compatriot Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Yamamoto has commanded the lion's share of attention in terms of the Japanese stars set to make the jump to MLB this offseason. The 25-year-old is a two-time MVP of the Pacific League and a three-time winner of the Eiji Sawamura Award, which goes to the top pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Imanaga hasn't compiled the same kind of résumé, and he turned 30 in September. For the teams shut out of the Yamamoto sweepstakes, the southpaw still figures to be a solid addition to any pitching staff.

Kodai Senga was 30 when he signed with the New York Mets, and he was an All-Star in 2023 while finishing as their best starter.

Across 22 appearances for the Bay Stars this past year, Imanaga went 7-4 with a 2.80 RA and 132 strikeouts over 148 innings. He also helped Japan win the 2023 World Baseball Classic, allowing two earned runs and striking out seven in six innings of work.

"Imanaga attacks with a low-90s heater, two different breaking balls, and, of course, a nasty splitter — and his entire arsenal plays up due to plus command," Fox Sports' Jordan Shusterman wrote. "He's an exciting option for teams seeking left-handed starting pitching that might not want to mess around in the Snell/Montgomery level of the market."

Now that he's posted, Imanaga has 45 days to negotiate a contract with an MLB team.