The Detroit Tigers have a clear need and a clear target, but they’re not alone in the chase for Shota Imanaga.
MLB Network’s Jon Paul Morosi reported Thursday that Detroit has shown interest in the left-hander, while Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported earlier in the week that the Padres are in the mix as well. That’s the first big obstacle for the Tigers: another club with real reasons to push hard.
Imanaga’s agent, Yoshinobu Hasegawa, told reporters at the general managers meetings that he had been in contact with a double-digit number of clubs, according to the Japanese baseball outlet Full-Count. The outlet also reported that Imanaga is seeking a multi-year deal and that Hasegawa said the pitcher wanted to pitch in the postseason. Beyond that, the actual terms either Detroit or San Diego might put on the table are still unknown.
San Diego has plenty to sell. Michael King, Nick Pivetta, and Walker Buehler all reached free agency, leaving the Padres with multiple rotation spots to fill. They also won 91 games and made the playoffs for the third straight year, a recent run of success Detroit can’t match after finishing 76-86.
Still, the Tigers have their own pitch to make. Imanaga logged 174.1 innings with a 3.77 ERA for the Chicago Cubs in 2026, and Detroit could use exactly that kind of steady arm.
He’d fit behind Framber Valdez and help ease the burden on Jackson Jobe’s workload while Reese Olson works back from shoulder surgery. That kind of immediate role gives the Tigers a reason to move early and make a serious offer.
The money range matters, too. Sports Illustrated’s free-agent projections have Imanaga at two years and either $34 million or $40 million, which offers a useful baseline for what proven innings might cost. There’s also no qualifying-offer draft penalty attached here, since Imanaga accepted one from Chicago last winter and was ineligible to receive another.
The real question is how far Detroit is willing to go beyond two years. Imanaga allowed 35 home runs in 2026, tied for second most in the Majors, and 14 of them came in 63.2 innings on the road, according to Statcast. Any club handing out a longer deal has to weigh that risk carefully, especially if the contract would run through his age-36 season.
If another team pushes the guarantee higher over two years, Detroit could respond by raising its annual number as long as it still leaves room for the late-inning relief help Scott Harris wants to add. If a rival goes to a guaranteed third year, the Tigers could try to answer with a club option instead.
But if the third year has to be fully guaranteed to get it done, Detroit should walk away. Two years would still give the Tigers the dependable innings they need while they figure out how much their younger starters can handle.
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Tigers Linked To Risky Lefty With One Big Rotation Question
The Tigers are still shopping for pitching help, and the search has not been limited to bullpen arms. Detroit has also been tied to the left-handed starter market, where Shota Imanaga has emerged as one of the more interesting names to watch. The Cubs lefty brings durability and, in 2026, some signs of better fastball command, which helps explain why he keeps surfacing as a possible fit for a club looking to deepen its rotation.
Imanaga also comes with a real question attached to his profile, one that has followed him from Japan into his first three major league seasons. He has given up more home runs than any pitcher in that span, and that kind of risk matters for a Tigers team trying to balance upside with stability. Detroit is weighing several options, including David Peterson, but Imanagas mix of reliability and volatility makes him one of the more intriguing names in the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
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Pitching has been the clear offseason lane for Scott Harris and the Tigers, and the Emilio Pagn signing only reinforced how seriously Detroit is treating that part of the roster. Even so, the club still has room to keep pushing, and renewed interest in free agent left-hander Shota Imanaga shows the front office is still weighing ways to raise the ceiling of the rotation rather than simply patching holes.
Imanagas availability after his time with the Cubs has put him back on Detroits radar, with contract structure and fit now part of the conversation. His style is being evaluated against the way the Tigers ballpark plays, which is exactly the kind of calculation that can turn a routine pursuit into a bigger gamble for Harris if he decides the upside is worth the cost. [Read more 🡒]