So kinda big news from earlier in the week that I missed yesterday is that Shota Imanaga has been named game 1 starter for 2025 season in Japan. And that obviously makes sense for him to be the opening day starter given he’s coming off a 15-3 debut season with a 2.91 ERA and the best BB/K ratio in baseball. He’s obviously very good and maybe our best starting pitcher.
The other argument is Justin Steele, who has been marvelous basically his entire career in Chicago. He had some health issues missing all of April and most of September. But he still finished with a 3.07 ERA over 135 innings against just 111 hits and 135 strikeouts. So while hurt to start the year, he was arguably just as good as Shota on the days he pitched.
Before we go any further – I concede the Tokyo series and MLB opening day is a gigantic platform that the Cubs should be using to the fullest of their ability. And I understand Shota is the right guy for the job and I think every sane and rational Cubs’ fan would agree on this.
I just hate that we’re pissing off Justin Steele in the process.
He might be the only guy that’s actually mad about Jed Hoyer announcing this to the media in February. Usually it’s the manager’s decision after almost a full spring training. And then it’s a huge discussion and honor to be the team’s opening day starter. That’s what I’m accustomed to.
Jed Hoyer meeting with the media is NOT that process. And I think Justin Steele is sensitive/competitive enough to take it personally.
Of course – Steele could be laid back about the decision. He’s a good teammate. Shota’s a deserving opening day starter when you consider you’re on Japanese soil.
But people don’t know that Justin Steele wanted a contract extension this winter very badly. That’s a really big deal, and obviously he didn’t get it. And it allows me to further assume that’s when Justin Steele found out the hard way that the Cubs don’t reward homegrown players. They don’t say that outright. But they’ll tell him We want to see you perform for another year before we commit long-term. That’s the kinda thing Jed and Tom would tell a guy like Justin.
They want him coming into camp firing on all cylinders. They want him being a good teammate and being focused on the Cubs and jut the Cubs for the entire season. So they’ll sandbag him on an extension, make him feel like it’s well within his control to be the #1, and then rug pull his ass with Shota opening day news before a single pitch is thrown in Arizona. That’s kinda diabolical.
So here’s something to keep an eye on:
Justin Steele could feel slighted the way this was handled. Not slighted that Shota gets the nod over him. But slighted because he didn’t get a chance to compete in spring training for the opening day job that’s already been his. And if you consider the emotions behind denied the opportunity to even negotiate an extension, and then mix that with the national outrage right now about Tom Ricketts being a cheapskate pussy… you have a concoction on your hands that could explode down the stretch.
I want to be clear though. I wouldn’t bet on this happening because Justin Steele is a very good pitcher and competitor. He doesn’t give in and complain and all that shit.
But he also hasn’t been in a position to be hurt or disappointed by the Cubs before, and now we’ve got two really solid opportunities before we start spring training games. So that has me a little nervous and confused about how the Cubs manage their homegrown guys.
And it kinda feels like they’re trying to send a message to Steele with how public this was announced. Almost like they want Justin Steele to know something right now and they decided to communicate it to the world in the Shota opening day announcement.
That’s really what I think about this situation. And as I said before, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on as we get going.
PS – I don’t have any details on his Steele the Show podcast with Marty Mush last year that isn’t publicly available. I never talked to anyone at Barstool about it. I just know the Cubs don’t particularly care for Barstool, and the show ended kind of abruptly in August with two months left in the season. I have a lot of assumptions, but most notable would be that Cubs leadership wasn’t particularly thrilled with that project. So maybe there’s a bigger message here that I can’t speak to directly, but sounds something like we have a long way to go before we start podcasting.