Chicago Cubs Rumors: Team mentioned as a suitor for Shota Imanaga

Perhaps when Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer traveled to Japan in September, it was more than a simple due diligence trip.

The timing of the trip for Hoyer did seem odd as the Cubs were in the middle of a post-season push but perhaps the team wanted to get a jumpstart on their shopping for the off-season. Over the course of the past month, the Cubs have been linked to Japanese pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Yuki Matsui.

Yamamoto is expected to be among the most coveted starting pitchers on the market this off-season while Matsui has been one of the most prominent closers in Japan in recent memory. There is no question that the Cubs will have a need in their starting rotation and bullpen this off-season so it is no surprise to see the team mentioned with early interest in either pitcher.

There is another Japanese pitcher that can be added to the list as Jon Morosi of MLB Network writes that the team could have an interest in left-handed starting pitcher Shota Imanaga.

"Imanaga started against Team USA in the World Baseball Classic gold medal game and earned the victory after allowing one earned run over two innings. He features a fastball that can reach 94 mph and a sharp splitter, and his stuff tends to play up because of his elite competitiveness. He's viewed as a possible No. 3 or No. 4 starter on a postseason team, with the Phillies, Cubs, Padres and Giants among the lefty's possible landing spots."

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Imanaga is expected to be posted by The BayStars this winter meaning that not only would the Cubs need to sign Imanaga but they would also need to pay a posting fee. Imanaga will not have as high of a price as Yamamoto so he could be fallbak option for the team this winter.

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