MESA, Ariz. — Last year’s Opening Day starter was more than happy to cede the honor this year to Shota Imanaga.

After all, the circumstances of this season opener — at the Tokyo Dome next month — are a bit different than others.

“I think it’s awesome,” lefty Justin Steele said on Wednesday. “I’m really happy for him. I think it’s appropriate, in his home country and whatnot. It’s gonna be very exciting.”

Steele started the season opener against the Rangers last season — a bittersweet moment for the Cubs’ homegrown pitcher after he suffered a hamstring injury in the 5th inning and missed all of April with the injury. Manager Craig Counsell said on Wednesday that Steele “is in line” to start the second game of the series against the Dodgers.

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“It’s a huge honor for starting pitchers,” Steele said. “Any starting pitcher that’s been in the big leagues would say they strive to be the best and stuff and that’s kind of what [Opening Day] is.”

By no means is this a “charity” Opening Day start for Imanaga. This is a second-year player who developed into the team’s ace almost from the onset. In his rookie campaign, he had a 2.91 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP across 29 starts in 173.1 innings, finishing 5th in Cy Young voting and 4th in Rookie of the Year voting.

“With the season he had last year, he’s definitely deserving of it,” Steele said. “I mean he came into this league right away and was dominating immediately. I’d say the guys around here — me, [Jameson Taillon] the guys that have been around and kind of saw it coming immediately — [with] how impressive he was in his bullpens and his day-to-day work and stuff.”

[MORE: Shota Imanaga shares his unique perspective on Opening Day start with Cubs in Japan]

While he may not be pitching the first game of the season, the Tokyo Series creates plenty of “Opening Day” type environments this season. The team will return to Arizona and play their first game Stateside against the Diamondbacks. After a 7-game road trip to open the series, the Cubs return to Chicago for their home opener against the Padres on April 4 — another first of sorts.

“Throwing the first game at Wrigley of the season is obviously very cool,” Steele said. “And I would say it’s just cool for everybody, even the fans, just to be a part of the first game of the year at Wrigley Field. It’s kind of its own Opening Day.”