MESA, Ariz. — If Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga had looked like his usual self on the mound in the postseason, he would have taken the ball in Game 5 of the National League Division Series, pitching coach Tommy Hottovy reflected Thursday.Instead, the Cubs went with a bullpen game in the loss to the Brewers that wrapped up their postseason run. After the game, a solemn Imanaga took on his share of the blame, and much more.“We have so many really good players that can perform,” Imanaga said then, through Japanese interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “And just watching that, it was amazing. And for me personally, I need to get to that level.”The offseason brought a series of contract option decisions, for both him and the Cubs, that briefly sent Imanaga into free agency. The saga ended when Imanaga agreed to the qualifying offer to return for 2026.“He’d shown what he can do at such a high level, and then just to not quite have that when we needed it the most down the stretch — he wanted more,” Hottovy said. “He thinks there’s more in there, there’s more to prove. And you can tell by the way he’s come into spring training that he feels that way because he’s in such a great place from where he was at the end of the year last year.”Imanaga also had to decide whether to participate in the World Baseball Classic this spring, after winning the championship with Team Japan in 2023. At winter…
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