The San Francisco Giants are showing interest in free agent starting pitcher Shota Imanaga, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported Saturday afternoon.
Imanaga has less than a month remaining in his negotiating window, which closes Jan. 12. However, the left-hander is not expected to sign before his fellow superstar Japanese pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, per Morosi.
The Giants have been pegged as a potential landing spot for Imanaga since the start of the offseason. San Francisco remains in the race for Yamamoto, though, which means their pursuit of Imanaga is likely contingent on how negotiations pan out with the former.
Imanaga spent the last eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, and he pitched for Team Japan at the World Baseball Classic back in March. Imanaga started the championship game against Team USA, picking up the win after tossing 2.0 innings and allowing one earned run.
The 30-year-old southpaw went 7-5 with a 2.66 ERA, 1.019 WHIP and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 24 appearances as a member of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars this season. Over the course of his professional career – which dates back to 2016 – Imanaga is 74-55 with a 2.96 ERA, 1.076 WHIP and 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
Imanaga has a fastball, changeup, curveball and slider in his repertoire.
San Francisco addressed one of its major lineup needs by signing Korean center fielder Jung Hoo Lee to a record contract on Tuesday, but there are sill significant holes on their pitching staff.
The Giants' rotation was shaky beyond 27-year-old ace Logan Webb this past season, with aging veterans and spot-starters typically filling in the rest of the posts. While Alex Cobb, 36, is on the books after picking up his one-year, $10 million option, he had to undergo left hip surgery earlier this offseason.
Imanaga, Yamamoto or both would provide much-needed talent and stability to the Giants' rotation, and their respective decisions are due in four weeks. If they are unable to lock in deals before then, the pair would return to Japan and get posted again next offseason.
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