When Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga was weighing his options in free agency last winter, Padres pitcher Yu Darvish was one of the players he turned to for advice.
Imanaga said he asked more general questions at first, but once he picked the Cubs, a team Darvish spent three seasons with, they talked about Chicago.
“He mentioned it was a great city, great fans,” Imanaga told the Sun-Times through interpreter Edwin Stanberry this week, as the Cubs and Padres faced off in a three-game series at Wrigley Field. “And even when Darvish had rough patches in Chicago, the fans were still supportive.”
Those rough patches came early in Darvish’s time with the Cubs. Darvish finished second in National League Cy Young voting in his last season with the Cubs before being traded to the Padres.
“I kind of understand now, after spending about two months with the team, why he spoke so highly,” Imanaga said, “because it is a great organization.”
Two years before Imanaga posted to MLB, right fielder Seiya Suzuki went through the same process. And he, too, turned to Darvish for advice.
“He’s fantastic,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said of Darvish. “I spent a bunch of time last year talking to him about various things, about this organization, about things we can do better.
“The respect he has from the Japanese players is pretty incredible. When you talk to them, who he was as a pitcher in Japan, the way he made the transition, the success he’s had, but also how he carries himself — and I think he really, really likes to mentor guys. I think that’s a big part of it. So I really have a ton of respect for him.”
Darvish and Imanaga’s start days were staggered this week. After Davish held the Cubs scoreless through five innings Monday, Imanaga allowed two earned runs in seven-plus innings in a 3-2 win Tuesday.
“Obviously he’s had a lot of success so far, but I also think the way he pitches is really fun to watch,” Hoyer said of Imanaga, already a fan favorite. “He’s excited, he pumps strikes in there, he’s aggressive with how he pitches, and it’s an appealing style, and I think that resonates. . . . It’s been a great start, and I’m glad people gravitated towards watching him.”
Palencia to IL
Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia said he felt tightness in his shoulder on the last pitch he threw in the 6-3 loss Monday.
“Hopefully it’s nothing crazy so I’ll be back soon,” Palencia said Tuesday.
The Cubs put put Palencia on the 15-day IL with what they listed as a strained right shoulder, but manager Craig Counsell said the team was still in the process of “diagnosing what exactly happened.”
“The symptoms were a little unique, frankly,” Counsell said. “Last night our thought was just to let it calm down after a night and then kind of see how he reported today.”
Palencia was scheduled to see the doctor Tuesday, and Counsell said he would likely have to undergo further testing.
Pitchers progressing
Lefties Jordan Wicks (strained left forearm) and Drew Smyly (right hip impingement) threw bullpen sessions Tuesday. It represented an important step in their rehab progressions.
