The A’s witnessed first hand what all the fuss was about during the winter over Shota Imanaga, an unimposing 5-foot-9 pitcher from Japan with a confounding four-pitch arsenal.
Imanaga, who the Chicago Cubs signed to a four-year, $53 million free-agent deal, baffled A’s hitters with his mix of a mid-90s fastball, a splitter, slider and curveball while striking out nine of the 16 batters he faced in a 3-1 victory.
If it’s any solace, the A’s aren’t alone in their inability to solve the 30-year-old Imanaga, who has now struck out 19 of the 41 hitters he’s faced this spring – an unheard of 46.3% strikeout rate.
Shōta Imanaga’s 9 Strikeouts in 4.1 innings. pic.twitter.com/tgQSWIi9ha
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 14, 2024
Zack Gelof, Oakland’s top hitter and owner of the second-best OPS (1.209) of any hitter in baseball this spring, struck out all three times he faced Imanaga.
The A’s, though, also got an impressive performance from their left-handed starter, JP Sears, who went five strong innings while allowing five hits and two runs. Sears retired nine in a row after allowing a first-inning RBI double by Seiya Suzuki, enabling him to lower his Cactus League-leading ERA to 2.08.
JP Sears #38 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the first inning of a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park on March 14, 2024 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
Major League Baseball has requested teams refrain from announcing their Opening Day starters until March 19, but it’s a pretty strong bet Oakland will at one point soon name Sears as its starter against Cleveland at the Coliseum on March 28.
Struggling on offense wasn’t the only concern on Thursday for the A’s, who had to deal with some unfortunate injury news about hot-hitting Miguel Andujar (calf injury), former Giants lefty reliever Scott Alexander (left ribcage) and bullpen hopeful Angel Felipe (right elbow).
Andujar, who is batting a robust .406 with a team-leading 13 RBIs, was scratched from the lineup with a right calf injury the team believes is minor.
Alexander was shut down after suffering a left rib stress reaction that team is calling a deep bruise. Alexander has been rocked for nine hits and eight runs in just 2 1/3 innings.
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The news was worst of all for Felipe, a 26-year-old acquired from the Padres last season. The right-hander who appeared in 14 games for Oakland last year is now headed for season-ending Tommy John surgery.
The injury updates for shortstop Nick Allen and outfielder Seth Brown, both out the last two weeks with back troubles, were decidedly more optimistic. Allen did tee work Thursday and Brown got in about 50 swings in the cage and A’s manager Mark Kotsay is hopeful both can appear in a game this weekend.