Tick tock tick, the clock keeps ticking on the free agency of Shota Imanaga. With only two days remaining, the stakes are high, so is the price and the number of players. Quite a few teams are behind Imanaga and the sweepstakes are getting interesting. With the tag of being favorites shifting rapidly among the teams, a top insider has now revealed new joint favorites for “The Throwing Philosopher”.

What is happening currently was not expected when Imanaga first got posted. He was called a fine fallback option but gradually things have changed. More and more teams fell in love with the Samurai Japan ace and his estimated contract price kept increasing. Now with Chi-Town and Beantown becoming favorites, things are getting spicy right near the deadline.

The ever-changing Shota Imanaga sweepstakes

There was a time in the near past when the New York Yankees were being called the favorites to sign Imanaga. Then they left the scene and suddenly a scramble began. With the market wide open, more teams began staking their claims. The San Francisco Giants seemed the closest but now, according to famous insider Jon Heyman, the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox are ahead of the rest. 

The Cubs have remained in on Shota Imanaga since the very beginning. Though at one point it did look like the North Siders were potentially out of the race, things have picked up recently. The franchise hasn’t made any signings yet, but they’ve remained active in the market, nonetheless. Imanaga could be a pleasant addition to their prospect-heavy lineup and give a nice lefty option to them.

The Red Sox, on the other hand, are quite desperate for a lefty after trading away Chris Sale. With the team lacking any quality left-hander, Imanaga would come as an immense relief to them. Heyman did say that the Giants are another team that could be a big part of the Imanaga sweepstakes.

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With only 48 hours to go, the Shota Imanaga talks are finally reaching their finale. There’s a lot of confusion regarding his potential entrance.

The growing confusion in the Philosopher’s free agency

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand called the San Francisco Giants the favorites in the Shota Imanaga sweepstakes. While the Bay Bombers do perhaps have the strongest lineup out of all the suitors, Imanaga is needed due to injuries to many of their star pitchers. On the other hand, Feinsand called the Los Angeles Angels as the team to look out for. On the other hand, Heyman said that the Halos are looking elsewhere.

As a result, it looks like as the deadline nears, many teams are hiding their cards. With reports changing constantly, the temperatures have certainly risen in this story.

Read more: Giants Favorites for Shota Imanaga? San Francisco Takes The Lead With 48 Hours to Go