Should the New York Mets pursue Shota Imanaga?

This news was certainly a surprise, as since entering Major League Baseball in 2024, Imanaga has been one of the most elite southpaws in the league.

After spending the first eight seasons of his career pitching for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of the Nippon Professional Baseball League, the Cubs signed Imanaga in January 2024 to a four-year, $53 million deal with that aforementioned fifth-year option. His first season in the majors saw him compile a 5-0 record with a microscopic 0.84 ERA through his first nine starts; the lefty finished the year with a 15-3 record in 29 starts with a 2.91 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 174 strikeouts across 173.1 innings pitched.

However, Imanaga regressed this past season for Chicago. In 25 starts for the Cubs during the 2025 campaign, he went 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA and only 117 strikeouts in 144.2 innings, although he still posted an impressive 0.99 WHIP. Imanaga's struggles were far more magnified in the postseason, as he allowed a combined six earned runs and three homers against the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card Series and the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS.

Should the Mets look to add Imanaga to their rotation?

With Imanaga becoming the third left-handed starting pitcher (Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez) slated to hit the open market this winter, would he be a realistic fit in New York?

The Mets are expected to be very busy this offseason addressing many needs for their team that vastly underperformed this past season. In particular, the starting rotation was a primary catalyst in the Amazins' collapse to miss the postseason.

After having one of the best ERAs in all of baseball to begin the season, the rotation declined rapidly down the stretch due to injuries and lack of solid contributions from the staff's veterans. The Mets had a starting pitching ERA of 4.03 (18th in MLB), used 17 different starters who combined for just 39 quality starts, and saw their average innings per start decrease from 5.5 in 2024 to 4.9 in 2025.

Those numbers are not sustainable throughout an entire regular season. With the Mets' rotation having many more questions than answers entering a pivotal offseason, Imanaga should at least be on David Stearns' radar.