The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a deal with Japanese left-handed pitcher Shota Imanaga, USA Today and MLB Network reported Tuesday.
The deal is pending a physical, to be conducted Thursday, according to USA Today. Terms were not yet known.
Imanaga, 30, was among the most sought-after international free agents after Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee signed with the San Francisco Giants.
Imanaga was posted by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars after eight years in Nippon Professional Baseball. He had a career ERA of 3.18 and 1,021 strikeouts over 1,002⅔ innings.
Last March, Imanaga was the winning pitcher for Japan in the World Baseball Classic championship game against the U.S.
He led the Central League with 174 strikeouts over 148 innings last year while having a 7-4 record and a 2.80 ERA in 22 games.
Imanaga joins slugger Seiya Suzuki as a member of the Cubs. The move marks the team's first big splash of the offseason after the storied franchise finished second in the National League Central last season at 83-79 but missed the playoffs. They hired Craig Counsell to replace David Ross as manager.
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