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The Red Sox face a deadline — and clarity — on another one of their rumored free agent targets later this week. And barring a last-minute surprise, Boston’s pursuit is expected to fall short.
Boston is considered a “long shot” to sign Japanese left-hander Shōta Imanaga before his deadline to sign with a major league club Thursday (Jan. 11), according to a source with knowledge of discussions between the sides. It’s unclear exactly how aggressive the Red Sox have been with Imanaga, who is considered one of the top three free agent starters left on the market and must pick a new team by 5 p.m. ET on Thursday. But unless something changes in the coming days, the southpaw is expected to sign elsewhere.
On Friday, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported the Red Sox were “lurking in Imanaga’s free agency rather than as one of the most involved teams.”
A source said earlier Monday that multiple teams remain interested in the mix for Imanaga. The Angels, Giants, Cubs and Mets have been linked to him, along with the Red Sox, for weeks. On Monday, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand pegged San Francisco — one of the teams that missed out on fellow top Japanese starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto this winter — as the favorite to sign Imanaga. It’s unclear if Imanaga has a preference to pitch on the west coast.
Imanaga, 30, was posted by the Yokohama Bay Stars on Nov. 27, opening a 30-day window for teams to sign him. While the lefty is not expected to command a deal close to the 12-year, $325 million contract that Yamamoto received from the Dodgers late last month, he’s still considering an intriguing mid-rotation option who may get more than $100 million on the open market. MLBTradeRumors ranked Imanaga as the No. 10 free agent on this year’s market at the outset of the winter.
The Red Sox, as MassLive’s Sean McAdam reported, heavily scouted Imanaga, who led Nippon Professional Baseball with 174 strikeouts in 2023. For a team that has yet to make major improvements to its starting rotation this winter (Boston signed Lucas Giolito while trading away Chris Sale), Imanaga was thought to be a logical fit. Speier previously reported that Boston was impressed with the left-hander’s pitch metrics despite the fact he’s undersized (5-foot-10) and has a fastball that usually sits in the 92-92 mph range.
