Shota Imanaga is a free agent after Cubs decline 3-year team option and lefty turns down player option

Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune on Nov 4, 2025

Published in Baseball

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CHICAGO — Less than an hour after the Chicago Cubs season ended in Milwaukee with a Game 5 loss in the National League Division Series, a somber Shota Imanaga reflected on what-ifs.

After an All-Star rookie season in 2024, Imanaga’s 2025 season featured a hamstring injury that cost him seven weeks, uneven results in the second half that were plagued by the long ball and the team opting not to start or use him in the decisive Game 5 of the NLDS. In his Game 2 start versus the Brewers, Imanaga surrendered four runs on five hits, including two home runs, over 2 2/3 innings in a loss.

Imanaga sat in the bullpen during Game 5 and even started to warm up at one point but never was called on as manager Craig Counsell opted for a bullpen game with the season on the line.

“We were so close, so I just look back at the game I threw and what I could have done better,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry after the Cubs were eliminated.

As of now, Imanaga won’t get an opportunity to avenge his disappointment.

The Cubs declined Imanaga’s three-year, $57 million club option Tuesday, which triggered a $15 million player option for the left-hander — who subsequently turned it down, a source confirmed to the Chicago Tribune. That sequence of events makes Imanaga a free agent.

The Cubs have until Thursday to extend him a $22.025 million qualifying offer for 2026, which would net them draft-pick compensation if he rejects the qualifying offer and signs elsewhere. The sides also could work out a new multiyear deal in free agency.

The Cubs also traded reliever Andrew Kittredge to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday for cash considerations.

Imanaga posted a 3.73 ERA in 144 2/3 innings spanning 25 regular-season starts this year. Known for his fly-ball tendencies, he was among the league leaders in home runs allowed. Imanaga’s fly-ball rate increased by nearly 7% from 2024, while his strikeout rate dropped by nearly 5% and hitters’ average exit velocity off his pitches went up by almost 2 mph.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer was coy when asked during his end-of-season news conference last month whether it would be a no-brainer to pick up Imanaga’s option or if what they saw from the 32-year-old this year made that a tougher decision.

“When we signed Shota, if you had shown us his production over the last two years, we would’ve taken that in a heartbeat,” Hoyer said. “So not only has he produced for us, but he’s a great teammate and terrific asset to the organization.

“Obviously we have decisions to make and discussions to make — and over the next two or three weeks we’ll do that — but I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about Shota.”

Should Imanaga decline a qualifying offer and the sides ultimately part ways, the Cubs must find a way to replace the value he provided, which was considerable even when he wasn’t at his best. Prioritizing starting pitching depth will again be an offseason focus for the Cubs, who saw that group tested by injuries this year.