[Passan] Shota Imanaga and Kyle Tucker were extended the qualifying offer
November 6, 2025
[Passan] Shota Imanaga and Kyle Tucker were extended the qualifying offer
26 comments
Tucker will obviously decline and we’ll get a draft pick, but I think the AAV is too good for Shota to decline
So clearly wasn’t a cost saving measure to not pick up Shota’s club option…
Man I was money on this one. Shota definitely takes that money. Unless a team gives him 3 years.
That’s a tough call for Shota. I think with the lockout next year and how desperate the market can get for starting pitching, I’d take the security of a long term deal on the open market now rather than gamble on the one year offer and get left out in the cold next off-season if he doesn’t bounce back.
Someone will offer him three years now I’m sure, it’s just a matter of how much the AAV would be.
C’mon back for one more go round Shota!
Assuming that happens this was pretty well played by Jed and co.
Man, this hard stop after 2026 is going to be so jarring. The lockout is going to get ugly…
Safe to say Shota is a better one year investment than three, even at a higher AAV. Worst case we get a draft pick, or save losing one, by him signing elsewhere.
Shōta will almost certainly accept this and everyone is going to look silly for their takes on Tuesday. Getting yourself a $3m raise aint nothing and if he still shows concerning trends they’re not on the hook for the full 3 years, with NTC and increase in posting fee.
No brainer on both sides, no such thing as a bad 1 year deal, comp pick likely for both
Even with Shota accepting at the higher salary, this would still result in the Cubs saving cash because they’d have owed nearly $9 mil back to the Yokohama Baystars over the life of the 3 year extension
Shota likely takes it, hard to imagine him getting more with a lockout year coming
We are really gonna let Tucker walk after basically trading away Belli Smith and Parades for him. And we won’t use the money we would have offered him on anyone meaningful. Jed and Ricketts are 100% punting next season. They are building an 83 win team hoping with luck they get to 88 and sneak into a wild card spot.
I think it’s win win for the Cubs here (on Shota). There is hardly such thing as a bad 1 year deal, and if he bounces back, you can probably figure out your next steps.
If he declines, you’ll likely nab a QO pick and you can “cake and eat it to” with signing a QO’d SP and still have an extra pick in hand.
Hopefully Shota accepts. I’m not ready to say goodbye to Mike Imanaga II
Shota is a guy who is really easy to want to succeed, he is extremely likeable. In the ideal world he accepts the QO, shoves in 2026, and earns himself a better payday after.
The impending lockout complicates things, I certainly wouldn’t blame him for accepting 3/45 from a different team.
He had the homer bug real bad, just not a lot of margin for error at the speed he throws. He left too many splitters and fastballs over the heart of the plate. But if it was a mechanics issue and he has a plan this offseason to work on it, I’d love love love him to come back.
I wouldn’t blame him for chasing his bag and trying to lock up a multi year deal, but I think another big factor with Shota and the QO is how much he seems to love this team and the city of Chicago. Hard to pass up a guaranteed $22 mil to stay put and hope you can bounce back next season. He’ll be 33 in 2027, but he won’t be ancient by any means and he wouldn’t have the albatross of the QO hanging around his neck
Man, I really hope Imanaga stays, returns to form, and then gets a proper contract. I know it’s unlikely but a man can dream…
Please take the QO Shōta, I still rock with you without crying about money.
Considering how impactful the split was in the playoffs, I would love to see him work on his location and come back strong next year.
Seeing some projections that Shota would turn down the QO to opt for a 3 yr/45ish deal…why would he do that lol he essentially just turned down 2 for 30.
The QO is 22 mil guaranteed. Even if he struggled again, he’d only need a 2 for 23 mil deal next offseason to match 3 for 45.
What is a Qualifying Offer?
See, we will pay for good players. This is proof. We offered them $22 mln. Thats a fair number. And they said no. They dont want to play for you fans. Its terrible
With the lockout looming, Shota should take the QO.
It seems well planned. A solid one year deal for everyone.
![[Passan] Shota Imanaga and Kyle Tucker were extended the qualifying offer](https://www.rawchili.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/lm5tlltpipzf1-1289x1024.jpeg)
26 comments
Tucker will obviously decline and we’ll get a draft pick, but I think the AAV is too good for Shota to decline
So clearly wasn’t a cost saving measure to not pick up Shota’s club option…
Man I was money on this one. Shota definitely takes that money. Unless a team gives him 3 years.
That’s a tough call for Shota. I think with the lockout next year and how desperate the market can get for starting pitching, I’d take the security of a long term deal on the open market now rather than gamble on the one year offer and get left out in the cold next off-season if he doesn’t bounce back.
Someone will offer him three years now I’m sure, it’s just a matter of how much the AAV would be.
C’mon back for one more go round Shota!
Assuming that happens this was pretty well played by Jed and co.
Man, this hard stop after 2026 is going to be so jarring. The lockout is going to get ugly…
Safe to say Shota is a better one year investment than three, even at a higher AAV. Worst case we get a draft pick, or save losing one, by him signing elsewhere.
Shōta will almost certainly accept this and everyone is going to look silly for their takes on Tuesday. Getting yourself a $3m raise aint nothing and if he still shows concerning trends they’re not on the hook for the full 3 years, with NTC and increase in posting fee.
No brainer on both sides, no such thing as a bad 1 year deal, comp pick likely for both
Even with Shota accepting at the higher salary, this would still result in the Cubs saving cash because they’d have owed nearly $9 mil back to the Yokohama Baystars over the life of the 3 year extension
Shota likely takes it, hard to imagine him getting more with a lockout year coming
We are really gonna let Tucker walk after basically trading away Belli Smith and Parades for him. And we won’t use the money we would have offered him on anyone meaningful. Jed and Ricketts are 100% punting next season. They are building an 83 win team hoping with luck they get to 88 and sneak into a wild card spot.
I think it’s win win for the Cubs here (on Shota). There is hardly such thing as a bad 1 year deal, and if he bounces back, you can probably figure out your next steps.
If he declines, you’ll likely nab a QO pick and you can “cake and eat it to” with signing a QO’d SP and still have an extra pick in hand.
Hopefully Shota accepts. I’m not ready to say goodbye to Mike Imanaga II
Shota is a guy who is really easy to want to succeed, he is extremely likeable. In the ideal world he accepts the QO, shoves in 2026, and earns himself a better payday after.
The impending lockout complicates things, I certainly wouldn’t blame him for accepting 3/45 from a different team.
He had the homer bug real bad, just not a lot of margin for error at the speed he throws. He left too many splitters and fastballs over the heart of the plate. But if it was a mechanics issue and he has a plan this offseason to work on it, I’d love love love him to come back.
I wouldn’t blame him for chasing his bag and trying to lock up a multi year deal, but I think another big factor with Shota and the QO is how much he seems to love this team and the city of Chicago. Hard to pass up a guaranteed $22 mil to stay put and hope you can bounce back next season. He’ll be 33 in 2027, but he won’t be ancient by any means and he wouldn’t have the albatross of the QO hanging around his neck
Man, I really hope Imanaga stays, returns to form, and then gets a proper contract. I know it’s unlikely but a man can dream…
Please take the QO Shōta, I still rock with you without crying about money.
Considering how impactful the split was in the playoffs, I would love to see him work on his location and come back strong next year.
Seeing some projections that Shota would turn down the QO to opt for a 3 yr/45ish deal…why would he do that lol he essentially just turned down 2 for 30.
The QO is 22 mil guaranteed. Even if he struggled again, he’d only need a 2 for 23 mil deal next offseason to match 3 for 45.
What is a Qualifying Offer?
See, we will pay for good players. This is proof. We offered them $22 mln. Thats a fair number. And they said no. They dont want to play for you fans. Its terrible
With the lockout looming, Shota should take the QO.
It seems well planned. A solid one year deal for everyone.
Kikuchi got 63 bro gettin 80 min
Happy to see Schwarber’s name on the list 💙