Chicago Cubs Star Southpaw Shelved

The Chicago Cubs will be without Shota Imanaga in their starting rotation for the next couple of weeks. The team announced that the Japanese lefty suffered a left hamstring strain after he ran to cover first on a Christian Yelich grounder. It was the second consecutive start that Imanaga was removed from by the trainer, but this one placed the southpaw on the 15-day injured list.

Though the team has not offered up a timetable as of yet for a return, it is generally expected that Imanaga will not be ready to return to pitch in 15 days, and they are just hoping to not have to move their star to the 60-day IL. Gavin Hollowell was called up to take Imanaga’s roster spot. Options to replace Imanaga in the starting rotation seem to be Drew Pomeranz, Brad Keller, and Cade Horton.

Chicago Cubs Place Shota Imanaga on 15-Day IL

Shota Imanaga had been having a great season so far for the Chicago Cubs in 2025. In his second year in the big leagues, Imanaga is backing up an impressive rookie campaign with a solid sophomore season.

He is 3-2 with a 2.82 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 44.1 innings across eight starts. The left-hander has become even more crucial to the Chicago Cubs since it was announced that Justin Steele will be out for the year with an elbow injury. The Cubs will now have to make up for Imanaga’s absence as well.

After hustling to first to try and get Christian Yelich out on a grounder, Shota Imanaga came up gimpy returning to the mound. It was the sixth inning, so the decision to lift Imanaga from the game was almost a foregone conclusion. When the injury was announced, however, it was obvious that Imanaga wouldn’t be available for a while. The team announced that Imanaga had a left hamstring strain that requires him to go on the 15-day injured list.

It is widely expected, though, that with a left hamstring strain, the Cubs will be without Shota Imanaga for longer than 15 days. An upcoming schedule with a lot of built-in off-days for the Chicago Cubs could help them deal with the injury to Imanaga in the short term. The hope is that he will be able to stay off the 60-day injured list, like Javier Assad, while recovering from this hamstring injury. Imanaga now joins Justin Steele on the injured list and leaves the Cubs in more dire need of starting pitching. Gavin Hollowell will be added to the active roster to help out in the bullpen.

Final Thoughts

The Chicago Cubs have had a fairly hectic start to the season so when Shota Imanaga was removed from his start last week, I was surprised to see him stay in the rotation, but then on Sunday against Milwaukee, he injures himself again, this time suffering a hamstring injury, and the chaos on the pitching staff can continue. After hearing that three of the top four starters on the team will not be available for the next couple of weeks, I am nervous for the team.

With a soft part of the season coming up, they need to pick up some wins, but balance that with getting some more clarity in the starting rotation. Colin Rea has stepped up nicely in a full-time role since the Justin Steele injury, but the team is going to need another step-up like Rea’s to make up for Imanaga’s production while he rehabs.

Cade Horton could be a contender for that spot if the Cubs like his debut performance enough; otherwise, the man who started the game for Horton, Brad Keller, could fill the fifth slot in the rotation. Other candidates for the starting rotation include veterans with starters’ experience, Drew Pomeranz and Chris Flexen.