Shota Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto Showcase NPB talent on the MLB stage in their First Start Opposite Each Other
When the Los Angeles Dodgers face off against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, September 10, it will be a showcase of the talent Nippon Professional Baseball has brought to the MLB. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is set to return from his right rotator cuff strain, and the Cubs are slated to start Shota Imanaga.
In December 2023, the Dodgers signed former Orix Buffalos star Yamamoto to a historic 12-year, $325 million deal. It was the most guaranteed money ever given to a pitcher. The Dodgers also posted $50 million to the Buffalos. While Yamamoto’s deal took most of the headlines, it was not the only impactful signing from Japan in the winter. The Chicago Cubs inked former Yokohama DeNA BayStars’ Imanaga to a four-year, $53 million deal. The Cubs paid a posting fee of just under $10 million.
Both signings have proven successful as Yamamoto and Imanaga continued their dominance on MLB mounds. In his MLB debut, Yamamoto allowed five earned runs in just one inning of work. However, since then and before his injury, he had a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts. Imanaga’s debut was nothing short of spectacular. He struck out nine in six innings of scoreless work.
On September 12, the two marquee free agency signings will face off for the first time in their MLB careers. The two were teammates in the 2023 World Baseball Classic but now take the mound as opponents.
Both have proven to be among the elite pitchers in baseball when they are on the mound. Imanaga is 12-3 this season with a 2.99 ERA in 26 starts. He was named an All-Star as well. He leads the National League in strikeouts per walk with 6.20.
Yamamoto made 14 starts before his injury, six of which were quality starts. The 25-year-old won the pitching Triple Crown in NPB, leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, and the Eiji Sawamura Award each of the last three seasons he was there. However, in their last season in Japan, Imanaga led the league in strikeouts with 174, just ahead of Yamamoto’s 169.
Their talent was on full display during the 2023 WBC. Imanaga and Yamamoto both were integral parts of Japan’s gold-medal team. Imanaga worked six innings with seven strikeouts and no walks in the tournament, including two scoreless frames in the gold-medal game. Yamamoto picked up 12 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings of work in the tournament.
The Cubs’ chances of making the postseason are slim, and they are not scheduled to face the Dodgers again. Therefore, the face-off between Yamamoto and Imanaga may be the first and last of the season. However, upon his return, Yamamoto will step into a Dodgers rotation that felt his absence. He will be an important piece if the Dodgers hope to achieve their World Series aspirations.
Yamamoto and Imanaga are not the only Japanese stars featured in the matchup. Shohei Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki will join them.
“Certainly in Japan, people are going to be tuned in and excited,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, also of Japanese descent, told reporters. “It should be a good crowd again, and we expect a good performance.”
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Photo Credit: Shota Imanaga of the Chicago Cubs and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers post for a photo before a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field on April 5, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images)
