MESA, ARIZ. – Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga, who is set to be the Opening Day starter in the Tokyo Series next month, took the mound Friday – but not against the Dodgers at Sloan Park.
The Cubs had him head to the back fields for two innings of a simulated game, rather than face their Tokyo Series opponent in the more formal and less controlled Cactus League setting.
“Getting closer to the actual game, I think subconsciously, I’m trying to output more power,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “So just trying to control that was my goal today.”
Coming into spring training last year, before Imanaga’s first season in MLB, much of his focus was on the fastball. Transitioning from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Imanaga was learning about and testing how his signature pitch played against major-league hitters and where in the strike zone it was most effective.
Building on an impressive performance that earned him fourth place in NL Rookie of the Year voting and fifth in Cy Young, Imanaga shifted focus this spring.
“It’s other pitches besides the fastball,” he said. “So, if I was a hitter facing myself, if I can just hit the fastball, then that’s the formula. So it’s, ‘OK, what other pitches besides the fastball can I start mixing in?’”
Workmanlike debut
Manager Craig Counsell had high praise for infielder Gage Workman after his first spring training game with the Cubs on Thursday. The Cubs selected him from the Tigers in the Rule 5 Draft this past offseason.
“You’re happy for the player in that he made a great impression yesterday in a situation where there’s a lot of nerves,” Counsell said Friday morning.
Workman, a left-handed hitter, went 2-for-3 Thursday against the Dodgers with a single off presumed Opening Day starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a home run off left-hander Justin Wrobleski. Counsell also complimented his defense.
As a Rule 5 Draft pick, if Workman doesn’t make the major-league team, the Cubs have to offer him back to the Tigers.
“It’s easier for this player to put a lot of pressure on himself in spring training,” Counsell said. “Got to make a good impression, is kind of what’s going through your head, right? And he’s right. And so, you can’t run from that. That’s the deal, man. We’ve got to make a decision on you.”
Workman was back in the lineup on Friday as the designated hitter, batting ninth. He added a single and sacrifice fly to his body of work.
From Dodger to Cubbie blue
New Cub Justin Turner hit in the sim game on the backfields before making his way over to Sloan Park. There, his new team was going to play the Dodgers, a team he spent almost a decade with. Wearing a Cubs-issued blue sleeveless hoodie, Turner greeted former teammates Mookie Betts and Chris Taylor on the field.
The Cubs’ first two spring training games are a preview of the Tokyo Series matchup that will open the regular season in less than a month.
“Obviously playing the Dodgers is just a whole nother layer to it,” Turner said this week. “Never been to Japan. Obviously know … baseball over there is such a big piece of their culture. And with the five Japanese players that are going over there [between the Cubs and Dodgers], I think it’s going to be some of the most exciting baseball I’ve probably participated in.”
Allen signs NRI deal
The Cubs are signing outfielder Greg Allen to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league spring training, according to sources. Allen joined the team in the clubhouse Friday morning.
Cubs 7, Dodgers 3
Seiya Suzuki, in his 2025 Cactus League debut, made a standout defensive play in the top of the second inning. Andy Pages dropped a short fly ball to shallow field, and Suzuki fielded it on a hop, fired home and threw out Austin Barnes at the plate.
- Catcher Miguel Amaya went 2-for-2 with a home run.
- Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong debuted a new jersey number on Friday, switching from No. 52 to 4.
- In a scrimmage on the backfields, left-hander Shota Imanaga recorded five strikeouts and allowed a single and a home run.
- On deck: White Sox at Cubs, 2:05 p.m. Saturday, Mesa, Marquee, 670-AM, Jared Shuster vs. Justin Steele.