Chicago Cubs get blasted by fans for Shota Imanaga decision

The Chicago Cubs finished the 2025 MLB season with a record of 92-70, good for the first Wild Card spot in the National League. As good as their year was, though, they could not get past the NL Central Division champions, the Milwaukee Brewers, in the National League Division Series, losing the five-game tilt 3-2.

During the NLDS, and even more so during the regular season, there were some serious concerns that the Cubs did not have the starting pitching needed in order to make a deeper run in the postseason. As such, it was expected that Chicago would be focusing heavily on pitchers in free agency.

However, one of their first decisions of the offseason involved parting ways with one of the most high-profile starters.

Chicago Cubs fans blast team for allowing Shota Imanaga to hit free agency

Early Monday morning, it was reported that the Cubs had declined their option to bring back left-handed starter Shota Imanaga, making him one of the most intriguing names on the current free agent market.

Given the fact that Chicago is already in the market for starting pitching, many fans greeted the news with confusion:

The Cubs need pitching so of course the first move of the offseason is dump Shota Imanaga https://t.co/yt3nRdHPqq

— Gomer (@GomesDaLegend) November 4, 2025

Wow. I did NOT expect Shota to hit the market. Incredibly stingy move on the Cubs part. As a command-based soft-tossing extreme fly ball guy, there’s relatively little risk of decline through 2028.

The wild card is whatever they think they know about him medically. https://t.co/plTVBfA9ZR

— Brad Johnson (@BaseballATeam) November 4, 2025

I hate this. I hope he takes the qualifying offer and forces the Cubs to pay him. https://t.co/19sZjxHrI3

— Mike Praznowski (@PrazMaster) November 4, 2025

My concern as always is that Ricketts is just going to pocket the money saved and not invest it back into payroll.

See Cody Bellinger. https://t.co/za81oCU0z1

— Bad Chad (@CubWin) November 4, 2025

Had the Cubs picked up Imanaga’s option, they would have been on the hook for another three years and $57 million. Of course, Chicago can still make Imanaga a qualifying offer, which he may or may not accept. If he accepts, he will be re-signed for a smaller salary than he would have otherwise made. If he declines, he will be free to sign elsewhere.

As a 30-year-old rookie in 2024, Imanaga was 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA. Last season, though, he was 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA and struggled with some injuries down the stretch.

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