There are plenty of reasons why it made sense to pass on Shota Imanaga, even at the surprisingly low number he ended up agreeing to when he signed with the Chicago Cubs. Before we even get to a home run rate that would make JN Phillips executives consider opening a new location right on Lansdowne Street, let’s just start with the fact that he’s listed at just 5-10 and 176 pounds. That’s even smaller than Tim Lincecum, whose pixie dust had already worn off by the time he reached Imanaga’s 30 years of age.
There are plenty of reasons why it made sense not to make an offer for Yoshinobu Yamamoto that blew away the rest of the field.