The 2023 crop of MLB free agents will not be one that will go down in history, with the exception of Shohei Othani of course.
But now a name will be added to the list of free players, namely Ohtani’s compatriot, Shota Imanaga.
Indeed, the latter will be made available by Imanaga’s Japanese professional baseball club, the DeNA BayStars, according to what some sources told Jon Morosi of MLB.com. He therefore joins Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Orix Buffaloes on the market.
The dates on which the two protagonists will be free as air are not yet known. Once they are officially available, pitchers and their representatives will be able to negotiate with any major league baseball team for a period of 45 days.
If one of them signs with an MLB team, their respective roster will receive a release fee from the MLB club, which is 20% of the initial $25 million, 17.5% of any amount between 25 and 50 million dollars, and 15% for any amount over $50 million.
Imanaga began the 2023 campaign by serving as a starter in the World Baseball Classic gold medal game against Team USA. So it’s not just anyone.
In addition to having an excellent 2023 season as evidenced by his record of seven wins against four losses and his earned run average of 2.57 in 20 starts, the 30-year-old has been one of the best starting pitchers in Japan since 2016, even throwing a no-hitter game last year.
There is no guarantee that the left-hander will find a buyer in the MLB, but let’s say the chances are good.
The St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will certainly be ones to watch in this matter, all of whom have glaring needs to fill in the starting rotation.
If Ohtani were to ultimately end up in Los Angeles, that could tip the scales in favor of the Californian team.
