Chicago Cubs feeling good about recent Shota Imanaga developments

“After we lost, I went to the locker room to clean up,” Imanaga recalled in his podcast, regarding his final poor outing of the postseason. “I thought fans might be harsh because I didn’t perform well in the postseason, but some said ‘Thank you for letting us enjoy this season.’ I felt ashamed I let them down and wished I could have shared the joy of winning with them.”

The rough 2025 led to the Cubs making some tough contract-related decisions regarding the 32-year-old.

Chicago declined their three-year, $57.75 million club option on him, which led to Imanaga declining his $15.25 million player option for 2026. Facing free agency, Imanaga instead accepted the Cubs qualifying offer of $22 million for the 2026 season.

The full-speed comeback

Now, back as a Cub for at least one more season, he’s reportedly fully healthy and focused on reclaiming the mojo he had in his rookie year.

Along with the health and determination, his velocity is reportedly back up and as strong as it’s ever been.

The low-key Counsell called the development “a little bit of a big deal.”

“If you go back on the game logs of Shota, that’s kind of the high end of his velocity in any game log — spring training, regular season,” Counsell told reporters. “That’s always encouraging. It’s a sign that you’re feeling really good. It’s a sign that your offseason went really well. It’s the adjustments you’ve made.”

Imanaga having extra zip on his fastball will make his offspeed pitches more off-putting and difficult to time, a factor that caught hitters off guard in his first MLB season.

Words of inspiration

The former Yokohama DeNA BayStars ace is apparently not hung up on the offseason contractual tussle he had with the Cubs and is, instead, eager to get things back on track and have a productive 2026. He’s giving Counsell a tip of the cap for inspiration in getting back in the right frame of mind.

“(Counsell said) in the first season I punched MLB, and then the second season MLB punched back,” Imanaga told Marquee Sports Network via interpreter. “But he made it simple, all you have to really do is stand back up.

“So looking bat at it, yes, I did get punched in the second year. But, just looking at it, what do I need to do to stand back up? What do I need to do to keep moving forward. So, I think it was a good mindset that he gave me.”

Imanaga is slated to be somewhere in the deep Cubs rotation, among names such as Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, and a soon-to-be-returning Justin Steele.