Jed Hoyer just made Cubs' position on Shota Imanaga crystal clear

It felt like goodbye for the Chicago Cubs and Shota Imanaga last week after both the team and the pitcher declined their respective options to continue their union. While the one-year, $22 million qualifying offer is still on the table until November 18 and seems like a real possibility, all indications have been that the front office has other preferred plans to upgrade the rotation with the money saved. Yet, Jed Hoyer wanted to make it clear that this isn't a case of the team not valuing their former ace.

Imanaga's famously complex four-year, $53 million contract baked in the possibility that one side or the other might want to end the partnership early, depending on performance. Hoyer has always prioritized flexibility to a fault. Hence, when Imanaga's struggles became so apparent in the second half and eventually ended with him being passed over to start Game 5 of the NLDS, it turned what seemed like a no-brainer three-year club option into a chance to rethink the pitching staff.

During the annual GM Meetings on Tuesday, he emphasized that their decision was always a natural possibility given the structure of the contract. It's not a reflection of the Cubs not valuing Imanaga as a pitcher going forward, nor was the subsequent declined option from the lefty an indication that he didn't value being a part of the organization anymore. This was just a standard disagreement based on the structure and value of their respective options, and doesn't necessarily preclude them from having conversations.

At 32 years old and with his home run troubles catching up to him — he allowed the fourth-most long balls of any pitcher with 140 or more innings — there are real questions about his long-term future. There's no saying he can't be better with some adjustments in the offseason, but that performance with a 3.73 ERA and 4.78 FIP on the year gave some pause about locking him in for another three years and $57 million. Especially for a Cubs team that is famously and frustratingly on a budget, that wasn't going to square with how Hoyer evaluates things, especially given their expressed interest in a topline pitcher like Dylan Cease. That doesn't mean he doesn't have plenty of good to say about the Throwing Philosopher and what he offered.

Similarly, despite how it may look, there's no real animosity to take from Imanaga and his agent, insisting that a rushed return from injury was to blame for his second-half swoon. At the end of the day, it's all business designed to get the most money on the player side or the most value on the team side.

Jed Hoyer and the Cubs remain flexible regarding Shota Imanaga

Regarding a path to the Cubs retaining Imanaga, Hoyer went further to ensure he's not just thinking about the qualifying offer. Even if Imanaga's camp rejects it, he's still open to negotiations to meet in the middle. 670 The Score's Bruce Levine raised the possibility of a two-year deal, again emphasizing that the

It seems obvious from reports and analysis, including from Levine himself, that the Cubs will want a power pitcher to anchor the rotation for once. However, Cease and the other big names on the market will command contracts unlike any this front office has ever doled out. Under Theo Epstein, Yu Darvish was their last longer-term, high-dollar contract for an ace, and they only got through three years of it before flipping him to the Padres to shed payroll. Either Hoyer is going to have to go out of his comfort zone, which just doesn't seem all that likely with the looming CBA expiration, or they'll have to explore trades for past targets like Joe Ryan or Sandy Alcantara.

The likeliest route to a Cubs and Imanaga reunion comes down to the market. If the front office is scared by the contract asks and trade prices, and Imanaga's camp doesn't see an aggressive suitor out there, it may make more sense to strap in for another year or two together.