Imanaga has been a steal for Cubs
While Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto attracted one of the fiercest bidding wars in decades and free agent pitchers Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery commanded the headlines, easily the best free-agent pitching acquisition so far has been Shota Imanaga of the Chicago Cubs.
He has been phenomenal, going 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA, striking out 28 batters in 272⁄3 innings, yielding a .181 batting average. He’s the first starter since Dave Ferriss in 1945 to win at least four of his first five career games with a sub-1.00 ERA.
The dude has been an absolute steal so far for the Cubs, receiving a guaranteed $53 million over four years, paying him just $10 million this year and $13 million in 2025.
Imanaga has an opt-out after the 2025 season, but the Cubs also have the right to give him a three-year, $57 million extension after 2025, which would pay him $20 million in 2026, $20 million in 2027 and $17 million in 2028.
The finalists, along with the Cubs, for his services: the Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox actually had a chance to match the Cubs’ offer after originally offering a two-year, $26 million contract, according to the Boston Globe, but declined.
You think those teams and a few dozen more are kicking themselves now?
Around the basepaths ...
● It was the constant media criticism and interference from the Astros’ analytics department that ultimately led Dusty Baker to retire as manager after last season.
Well, after enduring their worst start in 55 years, the Astros now are recognizing just how much they miss the future Hall of Famer. Baker was a master with a calming influence when times were rough, leading the Astros to the American
League Championship Series in each of his four seasons with a World Series title and two AL pennants.
The Astros sure could use his influence now.
The Astros have already lost 20 of their first 27 games. Under Baker, the Astros never had a losing record once they lost their 20th game of the season, going 21-20 in 2020, 26-20 in 2021, 35-20 in 2022 and 28-20 last season.
Meanwhile, Baker is in San Francisco as special assistant to the Giants, recently receiving Baseball Digest’s Lifetime Achievement award.
● All you need to know about the gross defects of relying solely on WAR as a statistical tool is that Washington Nationals outfielder Joey Gallo actually has a higher WAR this season than Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman.
Gallo, 0.2 WAR: .122 with a .597 OPS and a major-league leading 43 strikeouts in 87 plate appearances.
Freeman, 0.1 WAR: .304 with a .836 OPS, and 22 strikeouts in 121 plate appearances.
Then again, WAR will tell you that Jason Giambi’s career (50.5 WAR) was nearly as good as Hall of Famer David Ortiz’s (55.3 WAR).
If the Yankees had Ortiz instead of Giambi from 2002 to 2008, they might have won more than zero World Series.
And if the Red Sox had Giambi instead of Ortiz, well, we might still be talking about the Curse of the Bambino.
● Hey, you want honesty, meet veteran outfielder Tommy Pham.
Pham was asked by reporters his first day with the Chicago White Sox why he chose to sign there.
Was it the opportunity to be an everyday player instead of just a couple of times a week like the Phillies wanted?
Was it being able to live and play in beautiful Chicago?
Nope.
“Just came down to one,’’ he told reporters. “The economics.”
He nearly signed with the San Diego Padres, but when they didn’t increase their offer, he signed a prorated $3 million deal with the White Sox that includes a $500,000 bonus if they trade him, as expected, at the July deadline.
Don’t be surprised if the Padres try to deal for him ahead of the July 30 deadline.
● Tough to see perhaps the end of the line for Brewers starter Wade Miley, who will undergo Tommy John surgery at the age of 37.
While he acknowledged before the diagnosis that he would definitely retire if he needed surgery, he says he’ll now delay making a decision until he’s recovered in 2025 or 2026.
● MLB scouts and executives say the talent difference between MLB and Triple-A is the largest they can remember, which was exposed a bit when Orioles rookie Jackson Holliday hit .059 and struck out 18 times in 36 plate appearances before being sent down.
“This game up here, people attack your weaknesses,” Orioles GM Mike Elias said, “until you stop showing them to be weaknesses.’’
Now that Holliday is back in the minors, he won’t be eligible to receive a full year of major-league service unless he finishes first or second in the Rookie of the Year balloting, delaying his free agency until after the 2030 season.
● The White Sox are beyond frustrated and angry with their record-setting 322 start, but insist that manager Pedro Grifol’s job is safe for now.
If nothing else, no one is blaming Hall of Famer Tony La Russa any longer for the White Sox’s woes.
“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’m oblivious to our record and oblivious to things,” Grifol told reporters when asked about his job security, “because I’m not. At the same time, I’m not going to concern myself with that.”
● Considering that Giants starter Blake Snell (0-3, 11.57 ERA) is now out for several weeks with a strained adductor muscle, he’s going to need a sensational final four months if he still plans to opt out of his contract. He’s scheduled to earn $30 million in 2025.
● Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz, the most exciting young player in the game, is having an April to remember, hitting .299 with seven home runs and 17 stolen bases. He has more stolen bases than 16 entire MLB teams.
The only player with at least seven homers and 17 stolen bases in a single month is Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, who had seven homers and 20 stolen bases in May 1986.
● So, just how deep and talented is Atlanta?
All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies went on the injured list with a broken toe and Atlanta still went 7-1 without him.
Atlanta entered Saturday with basball’s best record, 18-6, having played 20 games against four of last year’s postseason teams: the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Astros and Rangers.
They went 10-2 in those games, and those two losses were by a combined three runs.
● Kudos to MLB for making the schedule change two years ago where every team plays in a city at least once every two years.
It’s ridiculous that the Astros had not played at Wrigley Field since 2013 until this week while the Cubs had not played at Fenway Park since 2017.