Analyzing Shota Imanaga and how he would fit with the Blue Jays

Is Imanaga a possibility for the Jays?

After taking a detailed look into how Yoshinobu Yamamoto profiles in MLB, it only makes sense shift attention over to the other prominent Japanese pitcher on the market, Shōta Imanaga. The need for a starting pitcher is not obviously apparent for the Blue Jays but as a general rule you can never have enough quality starting pitching. Alek Manoah's name has frequently come up in trade talks this offseason and moving Yusei Kikuchi, who has one year left on his contract, also remains a possibility. A move like that could land the Jays a much needed bat - perhaps one of Max Kepler or Jorge Polanco - and then allow them to pivot into the starting pitching market where Imanaga is one of the most intriguing names still on the board.

FanGraphs' Crowdsourcing only projects him for a four-year, $66M contract; a deal close to what Kodai Senga got last offseason seems most likely (five years, $75M) and it's worth noting he comes with a posting fee to the Yokohama Baystars which would be at minimum 20 percent of the guaranteed money he gets.

Imanaga has yet to be formally linked to the Jays but not much is known about his market overall. The Jays did scout him in person back in June according to the Yakyu Cosmopolitan. It's worth noting he threw a complete game in that outing.