Star Japanese pitcher Kenta Maeda could be coming to Major League Baseball soon, according to Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times.
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Arizona Diamondbacks Interested In Maeda
Friday, December 4
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported the Arizona Diamondbacks are in hot pursuit of Maeda, but signing him won’t be easy.
The general manager of the Hiroshima Carp, Kiyoaki Suzuki, provided a statement on Maeda’s posting, per Piecoro:
Kenta Maeda’s performance, his contributions, the player’s situation, the posting system environment beyond next year, the thoughts of the fans—everything was taken into consideration. As a result, it was determined that for Kenta Maeda and for the ballclub, this was the best timing. We will prepare for him to be posted.”
The posting system was set so Japanese teams can receive compensation for players seeking to play in the Major League before becoming free agents in Japan, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Piecoro wrote that Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart has been open about pursuing Maeda, who is expected to be posted for the maximum $20 million. It will cost a team that wants to sign him that much just to negotiate—though the fee will only be paid if he joins.
It could be worth it, however, as Maeda has been nothing but spectacular in his career. He is 97-67 with a 2.39 ERA. He has thrown 10 shutouts while striking out 1,233 batters in 1,509.2 innings. He has walked only 319.
In 2015. the 6’0″, 154-pounder finished 16-8 with a 2.09 ERA.
However, Mike Axisa of CBS Sports said while Maeda is a top pitcher in Japan, he is regarded as a middle-of-the-rotation prospect in the Majors.
A scouting report from Ben Badler of Baseball America (via Axisa) explained his versatility:
Maeda has shown solid stuff across the board, with a fastball that sits at 89-93 mph and can touch 94, a tick above-average slider that he leans on heavily, along with a curveball and a changeup. … While Maeda’s slider is usually his go-to secondary pitch, his best offspeed weapon in two starts against Mexico and Puerto Rico was his changeup.
At this point, it might be worth it for Arizona to take a chance to help improve its staff. In 2015 the Diamondbacks ranked 15th in MLB in ERA at 4.04, 19th in strikeouts and 23rd in walks.
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