Shōta Imanaga Makes Final Decision on His Future with Cubs

Left-handed starting pitcher Shōta Imanaga has made his decision on the qualifying offer, officially accepting the $22.05 million salary for the 2026 season.

Imanaga, who saw the Cubs decline a three-year contract extension option, declined a $15.25 million option himself and is now locked up for one more year in Chicago. The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney first reported Imanaga’s decision ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.

Via Patrick Mooney.

Shota Imanaga will be returning to the Chicago Cubs on a one-year, $22.025 million contract, a league source briefed on his decision said before Tuesday’s deadline to accept or reject qualifying offers.

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We got a little bit of news from the GM meetings this week in Las Vegas as Jon Heyman reports that Shōta Imanaga will decline the qualifying offer and test the free-agent market after spending two seasons with the Chicago Cubs. However, for fans who still want to see the Japanese lefty remain on the north side of Chicago local baseball insider Bruce Levine teased a multi-year reunion as negotiations between Imanaga and the Cubs will seemingly continue once the pitcher makes his decision on the qualifying offer.

Jed Hoyer spoke to media on Tuesday night and when discussing Imanaga the Cubs’ top boss in the baseball department dispelled the notion that there was any bad blood between the organization and Imanaga.

The Cubs did not extend Imanaga’s contract that would have guaranteed him $57 million over the next three years. Meanwhile, Imanaga declined a two-year, $30.5 million contract and became a free agent. Imanaga now has until Nov. 18, to accept or decline the qualifying offer that’s worth $22.05 million.

Levine later added some interesting language, saying the Cubs and Imanaga may ultimately negotiate a new, two-year deal to reunite this offseason.

We’ll see how things shake out as the Cubs wait on Imanaga’s decision next week and if the two sides continue to work on a multi-year contract as Levine alluded to.

(Previous Update)

The Chicago Cubs extended the qualifying offer to left-handed starting pitcher Shōta Imanaga after the two sides both declined multi-year options to extend his time with the club. If Imanaga accepts the qualifying offer, then he’ll be locked into a one-year, $22.05 million contract and stick with the Cubs in 2026. As a reminder, Imanaga declined a two-year, $30.5 million player option to become a free agent.

According to national MLB insider Jon Heyman, Imanaga is expected to decline the qualifying offer from the Cubs.

It certainly seems like a bit of a shock, considering that Imanaga can guarantee himself a higher salary in 2026 if he accepts the qualifying offer. Plus, if he does indeed decline, then it’ll probably be tougher for him to get a longer contract because whatever team does sign him would then lose a draft pick.

But I guess Imanaga has enough confidence in his market and believes he’ll get as much as the $30.5 million that he has previously declined this offseason. However, we’ve already seen a couple head-scratching decisions from potential free agent starting pitchers who elected not to test free agency and remain on modest deals for 2026.

Shane Bieber opted back in with the Toronto Blue Jays and will earn $16 million next season, a decision that is still leaving folks within the industry scratching their head.

Jack Flaherty was the other starter who passed on testing the marker as he picked up a $20 million option to stay with the Detroit Tigers.

And you know, there’s that whole potential of a lockout following the 2026 season, so it’s not like there’s a lot of certainty about when baseball will start up again in 2027. We’ll see what ends up happening with Imanaga, but I do think it’s a bit of a surprise if he does indeed decline the qualifying offer.