Shota Imanaga posted to MLB: Japanese pitcher set to leave NPB alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Yokohama DeNA BayStars ace left-hander Shota Imanaga has officially been posted for MLB teams, the league announced Monday. Imanaga will now have a 45-day window, beginning Nov. 28, to negotiate with MLB teams. If he doesn’t reach an agreement before Jan. 11, he will return to the BayStars.

Imanaga, who turned 30 in September, is the second Japanese pitcher posted for MLB teams this offseason, joining Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto was officially posted last week and his 45-day posting period closes at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 4, one week before Imanaga’s.

This past season, Imanaga threw 159 innings with a 2.66 ERA and 188 strikeouts. He struck out 29.5% of the batters he faced, a stellar rate in a league with a 19.6% average strikeout rate, and he has consistently ranked among the best strikeout artists in Japan. We ranked Imanaga as the No. 42 free agent available this offseason:

Imanaga, previously part of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars rotation, loves his low-90s fastball. He threw it around 60% of the time last season, all the while posting a usage rate above 15% on just one other offering, his slider. Imanaga relies on coercing outside-the-zone swings on his heater, something he did to great effect in Japan. It’s to be seen if their American counterparts give pursuit as often. Imanaga generated close to 40% whiffs on his slider, and he may need to balance his arsenal more to be effective as a MLB starter.

The New York Mets gave Kodai Senga a five-year, $75 million contract last offseason, a few weeks before his 30th birthday. Senga’s contract is a good benchmark for Imanaga, who wasn’t as dominant as Senga in Japan but is available as part of a much weaker free-agent class. Pitching demand far outweighs supply this offseason. That’s good news for the players.

Whichever MLB team signs Imanaga will have to pay the BayStars a posting fee that is based on the size of his contract. Here is the posting fee structure:

• Contract worth less than $25 million: 20% of contract value
• Contract worth $25 million to $50 million: $5 million plus 17.5% of amount over $25 million
• Contract worth more than $50 million: $9.275 million plus 15% of amount over $50 million

A $75 million contract like Senga’s would come with a $13.025 million posting fee, for example. The posting fee does not count against the competitive balance tax payroll, which is good news for large-market teams, but it is a real expense. The team that signs Imanaga will have to cut the BayStars what is likely to be an eight-figure check.

Yamamoto and Imanaga are expected to be the two highest-profile Japanese players posted this offseason. Jung Hoo Lee, a center fielder with the Kiwoom Heroes in Korea, is expected to be posted as well.