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Cubs' Craig Counsell Provides Injury Timeline For Shota Imanaga

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matthew Sullivan | Last updated May 20, 2025 10:35 AM ET

The Chicago Cubs have lost multiple top starting pitchers in 2025. With Justin Steele done for the year and Javier Assad facing a setback in his recovery, the attention falls on Shota Imanaga.

Imanaga is dealing with a mild left hamstring strain and was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 5. Cubs manager Craig Counsell has been cautious with Imanaga's recovery, but ahead of the Cubs series against the Miami Marlins, he provided a timeline for Imanaga in his recovery.

According to Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports on X, "Shota Imanaga will begin throwing off a mound towards the end of next week. He [Counsell] said his return will be 'well into June.'"

Per Craig Counsell, #Cubs Shota Imanaga will begin throwing off a mound towards the end of next week. He said his return will be “well into June.”
— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) May 19, 2025

The Cubs will seemingly have to wait a few more weeks before Imanaga returns to the Major League club. With his dominance to begin his Major League career, ensuring Imanaga is fully healthy is a sign of good management.

Through Imanaga's first eight games of 2025, he had an ERA of 2.82 with a record of 3-2. Imanaga, through 44.1 innings, had walked 14 batters while striking out 34.

To begin the season, Imanaga was off to a similar pace to his All-Star 2024 campaign. In the 2024 season, he had an OPS+ of 138; in 2025, Imanaga had an OPS+ of 142.

While the Cubs wait for Imanaga to get healthy, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea, Ben Brown, and Cade Horton will manage most of the work.

Boyd is having a resurgence in 2025, sitting at an impressive 2.98 ERA with 53 strikeouts and a 4-2 record. Rea has also been off to a strong start, with an outstanding 2.38 ERA and 32 strikeouts at a 3-0 record.

However, Taillon and Brown have struggled, each sitting above a 4.50 ERA. Horton, despite a 2-0 start, has a 6.00 ERA. While the Cubs are keeping things afloat for now, there is no guarantee that the Cubs' rotation will be able to hold up in the face of so many injuries.

But with a rough return date set for Imanaga, the Cubs know how long they'll need to keep things afloat with the current starting rotation.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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