Cubs' Shota Imanaga leaves game due to injury

Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga sustained what the team described as a left hamstring strain during Sunday's start against the Brewers.  With one out in the sixth inning, Imanaga picked up the injury while covering first base during a fielder’s choice from Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich.  Imanaga was immediately favoring his hamstring even before the play was completed, and was removed from the game after consulting with team trainers.

More imaging and tests need to take place before the Cubs decide whether or not Imanaga will head to the 15-day injured list, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine writes. Chicago has an off-day this coming Thursday, so conceivably, the team could skip Imanaga’s next turn in the rotation to give him some time to recover without putting him on the IL and losing him for at least 15 days.

That said, the fact that the injury has already been described as a strain certainly makes it seem like a 15-day IL stint is the most probable result.  With Imanaga likely out of action and Justin Steele already gone for the season due to UCL surgery, Chicago is now down its top two projected starters.

Signed to a four-year, $53M contract during the 2023-24 offseason, Imanaga’s move from Nippon Professional Baseball to the majors went very smoothly, as he delivered a 2.91 ERA over 173 1/3 innings in his first big league season.  The lefty was off to another good start in his sophomore season, as counting Sunday's outing, Imanaga has a 2.82 ERA in 44 2/3 innings.  That quality ERA does mark some troubling secondary numbers, however, as Imanaga’s 18.9% strikeout rate is well below average, and he has allowed a lot of hard contact.

Those metrics notwithstanding, Imanaga was still delivering good bottom-line results and helping the Cubs rise to first place in the NL Central.  Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd have also pitched well, Colin Rea has performed well since being inserted into Steele’s rotation spot, and Ben Brown has been inconsistent but serviceable in covering innings.

Assuming Imanaga will indeed go on the IL, Chris Flexen might be the likeliest replacement, as he was already working as a starter at Triple-A before Chicago selected his contract to the big league roster earlier this week.  Flexen has thus far made one appearance with the Cubs (a three-inning relief outing in Friday’s 10-0 win over Milwaukee), and could be fairly easily stretched out again for a starting gig in Imanaga’s place.

If not Flexen, the Cubs could call Jordan Wicks up from Triple-A, or perhaps give star prospect Cade Horton his first taste of Major League action.  Javier Assad won’t be an option for perhaps several months, as Assad recently suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain while pitching on a rehab assignment for an earlier oblique strain suffered in spring training.