There hasn't been much talk about recently posted Japanese left-handed pitcher, Shota Imanaga. Although, it's certainly going to pick up steam eventually. When it comes to predicting where Imanaga could land, there's always tiers of teams who could land him.
Tier one:
The New York Mets. Much like a lot of teams, the Mets have been connected to another Japanese pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Although, the Mets could use Shota Imanaga as a fallback option if they miss out on Yamamoto. The Mets are always interested in top free-agents, so this could be a match for the Mets and Shota Imanaga.
The New York Yankees. The Yankees recently brought in star OF Juan Soto and OF Alex Verdugo. So, the Yankees have already made a few splashes this off-season. Like the Mets, the Yankees have been connected to Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Yankees could use a starting pitcher. The Yankees are now focused on starting pitching.
The Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers recently signed star free-agent, Shohei Ohtani. They also traded for starting pitcher, Tyler Glasnow. It's still not enough, the Dodgers don't have much depth when it comes to starting pitching, so they need to add more. Shota Imanaga could be the perfect fit for the Dodgers.
Tier two:
The Philadelphia Phillies. In the early stages of the off-season, the Phillies brought back Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract. As it stands, the Phillies starting pitching is the exact same as last year. They still need that third pitcher to go with Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. The Phillies could really consider Shota Imanaga.
The Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox have been searching for a big splash in free-agency for the past few years. Their pitching depth needs to improve. The division that the Red Sox are in, the AL East, is already one of the hardest divisions. The Red Sox need to make a splash to keep up with the other good teams in their division, the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, and Orioles.
Tier three:
The Chicago Cubs. The Cubs have missed out on a decent amount of free-agents in the past few years. The Cubs are linked to a few free-agents, Shota Imanaga could be a big splash the Cubs could make. They need starting pitching, and Shota Imanaga could help that issue.
Shota Imanaga has been in Japan pitching for eight seasons. He has posted pretty good stats. In 192 starts and 1,192.2 innings pitched. Imanaga has posted a 74-55 record, 2.96 ERA, 1,183 SO, and a 1.076 WHIP.
Shota Imanaga will be a perfect fit for any of these teams. Each team listed above could use help with their starting pitching. It's going to be interesting to see when Shota Imanaga's market heats up and who will sign him.