Jed Hoyer and the Cubs are heading into a pivotal offseason. After 4 straight years without a trip to the playoffs, Hoyer and Co. are looking to build a roster that can get the franchise back into October. As they work to enhance this group, we are analyzing the Top 10 building blocks already on the Cubs roster. Next up: Shota Imanaga.

Twelve months ago, Shota Imanaga’s name was hardly known amongst Cubs fans.

Fast forward a year and his name and face are as known as any other on the current roster.

“Sho-time” was real in 2024. He was the team’s best pitcher, best soundbite and every outing and subsequent press conference was must-watch TV in 2024.

That makes Imanaga one of the cornerstone building blocks for the Cubs moving forward. You could make the argument he’s the most important piece for the Cubs — staff aces don’t go on trees, after all — but his team control had him clock in behind Pete Crow-Armstrong and Justin Steele on this list.

[WATCH: Catch Jed Hoyer’s full end-of-season press conference on the Marquee Sports Network app]

Imanaga joined the Cubs last offseason on a 4-year, $53 million deal that includes plenty of options that complicate how long he could stay in Chicago. After next season, the Cubs can unlock a 3-year, $57 million contract that would keep him through 2028. If the Cubs decline that 3-year option, 2026 becomes a $15 million player option. That situation unlocks another team option that turns into another player option if declined.

Complicated, yes, but suffice to say, Imanaga will be in Chicago likely through at least 2026. The fewer guaranteed years of team control meant Steele — who has been just as dominant over a longer spell in the majors — edged past his fellow lefty starter.

Make no mistake, though, Imanaga has been just as good as Steele. And that provides the Cubs with a potent 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation.

The 31-year-old came to the majors with a proven track record in Japan, but a lot of mystery, too. He didn’t carry the pizzazz of his countryman, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed for a whopping 12-year, $325 million deal. But he definitively outperformed Yamamoto.

Known for his mental prowess on the mound — he garnered the nickname “The Throwing Philospher” in Japan — Imanaga showcased that aptitude — by abridging what he did.

“I still think the best thing and the genius in Shota this year is that he actually came here and simplified who he was,” manager Craig Counsell said near the end of the season. “And that’s hard to do when you come to a new place and think you have to be better. He didn’t have to be better. He actually made himself simpler. And there’s real genius in that, I think.

“And that was my kind of favorite thing about him, is just watching him simplify things and get better.”

The Cubs are hopeful that he can continue to perform as he did in 2024, too — and if he does, that gives the Cubs the type of production that can form the type of playoff duo that would be an envy of teams with Justin Steele.

“He’s exceeded our expectations,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said near the end of the season. “We thought we were getting a really good starting pitcher, but, I think that the year he’s had this year — his record after losses, and the length he’s given us and even, from a makeup and cultural standpoint, he’s been awesome.

“He’s been a breath of fresh air the whole time. He’s been outstanding and hope he keeps building off this.”