Shota Imanaga Identified As A Perfect Fit With the Red Sox

Japanese star southpaw Shota Imanaga, dubbed the "Throwing Philosopher" remains one of the highest-ranked free agents still on the market, and Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com has the Boston Red Sox as the best fit to acquire Imanaga's services.

Red Sox Rumors: Boston the Best Fit for Shota Imanaga?

Now, Imanaga isn't the big-ticket acquisition that Yoshinobu Yamamoto would have been, or that Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery would be. As with any player coming stateside without MLB experience, there is always unpredictability around how their performance will translate to the bigs.

Imanaga projects as a classic crafty lefthander that mixes pitches well and won't overpower hitters with a high velocity. Per the scouting report from Baseball America, he would likely slot in as a "4 or 5 in a rotation, or potentially as a long reliever." Unfortunately for the Red Sox fans, their approach appears to be to stack the rotation with fours and fives. If Imanaga were to come stateside to Boston, he would become the third Red Sox pitcher ambiguously straddling the line between starter and reliever (along with Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck). These lines could become even more blurred if closer Kenley Jansen is dealt.

The 30-year-old holds a 64-50 record in Japan, while holding opposing hitters to a 3.18 ERA and despite his lack of overpowering velocity, Imanaga still strikes out batters at an impressive clip of 9.2 per nine innings. He was able to mix and match his pitches enough to earn the 2023 Central League strikeout crown, and he also twirled a no-hitter in in 2022.

Boston added to their rotation with the signing of Lucas Giolito last Friday before immediately subtracting with the trade of Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves the next day. The departure of Sale (and his lofty salary) could shift the Red Sox right back into addition mode.

Also of substance, long-rumored Red Sox targets Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery are linked to other destinations in the article. Snell is paired with the Los Angeles Angels, while Montgomery is partnered with a reunion to the Bronx and the New York Yankees. Recent reports suggesting a frugal approach out of Fenway has casted doubt on the likelihood the team would shell out the contracts needed to sign either one of the two hurlers.

The courting of Imanaga comes with a hard deadline, as his posting period expires at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 11. With only a week left before Imanaga would have to return to his NPB club in Japan, Breslow may be forced to make a decision sooner rather than later. On New Year's Eve, Chris Cotillo reported that the "Red Sox have told at least one free agent target that they need to shed more payroll before pursuing him as aggressively as they want to." If Imanaga is one of those free agents, then the activity out of Boston's front office could escalate quickly in the next week or so if a corresponding move is necessary to offload salary.

With the deadline rapidly approaching, Red Sox fans won't be kept waiting for too much longer to find out Imanaga's destination.

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