With a return to Wrigley Field on Monday, the Chicago Cubs have a better idea of how long they will be without starting pitcher Shota Imanaga.
Imaging done on Monday confirmed that Imanaga suffered a hamstring strain during his start against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon. Imanaga was placed on the 15-day IL on Monday with what Craig Counsell referred to as a “mild hamstring strain”.
Expecting Imanaga to return after those 15 days, as Counsell even suggested, would probably be too optimistic. It would seem that an accurate timeline would be the one Justin Steele had at the start of the 2024 season when he returned in a month after suffering a hamstring strain on Opening Day.
While the Cubs are still sorting out who will take Imanaga’s spot in the starting rotation, the larger question remains of when the team will look to make a trade in order to add to the top of their rotation.
Jed Hoyer was asked that question on Monday, and his answer is likely one that fans won’t want to hear but is undeniably true.
“Teams are calling around, seeing what’s going on,” Hoyer told reporters. “For sure, you make the phone calls. But I still look at this as these are the internal months, and we have to solve this internally.”
Turning to the trade market isn’t an immediate response to Shota Imanaga’s injury
As of now, the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, and Miami Marlins are likely the only teams that would be willing to begin selling at this moment. The White Sox and Rockies can immediately be ruled out of the conversation as they don’t have a starting pitcher who would be of interest to the Cubs.
The Marlins have Sandy Alcantara, but given his years of control after 2025, they will likely wait until closer to July when the trade market is more defined with buyers and sellers.
Given the off days the Cubs have between now and the beginning of June, the team can withstand Imanaga being sidelined. The Cubs could choose to utilize a 4-man rotation with Chris Flexen seeing bulk appearances out of the bullpen, or if the time is right, Cade Horton’s Major League debut could be calling.