It is official, Shōta Imanaga is back and will start for the Chicago Cubs in their series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday afternoon. The team activated Imanaga off the injured list and to make room on the roster veteran pitcher Michael Fulmer was designated for assignment.
Imanaga last pitched on May 4, against the Milwaukee Brewers. The left-hander suffered a left hamstring strain and although he was back pitching in Arizona a few weeks ago the Cubs took a cautious approach in Imanaga's rehab. The 31-year-old made three rehab appearances, including his last one at Triple-A on June 20.
Prior to his leg injury Imanaga posted a 2.82 ERA in eight starts for the Cubs.
The Cubs starting rotation has fallen on tough times as of late, but hopefully Imanaga can give the team deeper and more effective starts beginning today through the end of the year. Even with a healthy Imanaga the Cubs will be hard at working trying to trade for another starting pitcher by the MLB trade deadline at the end of July.
We'll see how the extended time away from the majors effects Imanaga. Early in the year he was walking batters at a much higher rate than he did during his rookie MLB season. Still, he was able to limit the damage and was pitching well before the hamstring injury popped up.
As for Fulmer, the 32-year-old got to pitch in two games against the Cardinals this week after he was called up from Triple-A on Monday to replace Nate Pearson in the bullpen. The Cubs signed Fulmer to a minor league deal back in April and had him pitching in Triple-A. The veteran pitcher began the 2025 season with the Boston Red Sox, but was let go after one game.
Fulmer tossed a total of three scoreless innings in his two appearances with the Cubs this week. He struck out one batter, walked none and gave up a pair of hits. So, Fulmer got to audition for other MLB teams and now he'll be placed on waivers where any team can pick him up. If not, maybe he decides to stay with the Cubs and remain an option down at Triple-A.
