Shota Imanaga’s contract deadline expires in three days

Shota Imanaga’s 45-day period to negotiate with Major League teams began on November 28. Today is the 42nd day of the said period, and the Japanese left-hander is still on the free market. The 30-year-old has until 5:00 pm ET on Thursday to sign with an MLB club.

MLB Network’s John Paul Morosi wrote Sunday that Imanaga continues to attract interest from at least five teams. Jim Bowden of The Athletic previously reported that the Cubs, Angels, Giants and Red Sox are the finalists to sign the left-hander. That figure was confirmed by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who wrote Sunday that Imanaga “has four teams seriously vying for his services,” including the Red Sox and Cubs.

But San Francisco could be the favorite, according to source Mark Faisand of MLB.com.

“Everything points to the Giants,” the source said. “They’re without (Shohei) Ohtani and (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto, and even though Imanaga isn’t on the same level as those guys, they don’t want to be left out again.”

Feinsand recently named the Yankees and Mets as two other teams vying for Imanaga. The left-hander posted a 2.96 ERA in more than 1,100 innings over eight years in Nippon Professional Baseball. According to Feinsand, some scouts view Imanaga as a second or third starter for a major league team.