Coming into the offseason they had a few of their players set to hit free agency.
One player the Cubs lost in free agency was starting pitcher Marcus Stroman.
He signed with the New York Yankees, but the Cubs brought in a new starter to replace Stroman.
As shared by MLB on Twitter, Shota Imanaga is the newest addition to the Cubs rotation and shows up with some impressive numbers.
Imanaga came over from Japan and this upcoming season will be his first in MLB.
Hey, Chicago, what do you say?
The Throwing Philosopher is coming your way. pic.twitter.com/a3BAYmzw0J
— MLB (@MLB) January 15, 2024
Imanaga played eight seasons in Japan and he put up strong numbers.
Over 1,002.2 innings, he pitched to a 3.18 ERA.
We have seen many Japanese players come over to MLB and succeed right away.
The Cubs are hoping that Imanaga will be the next one to do so.
Another move we saw the Cubs make was with their manager.
They took Craig Counsell away from their rival Milwaukee Brewers.
Now the Cubs have added an experienced manager who is coming off an NL Central title in Milwaukee.
It looks like the NL Central will be wide open for the 2024 season.
None of the teams in that division should scare anyone.
It might come down to which manager can get the most out of their roster.
And if you look across the landscape of the division, the Cubs have to feel good about their chances with Counsell at the helm.
