Kenta Maeda tells Hiroshima Carp he wants to be posted this offseason

(Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images) The free-agent pitching market is about to get richer. Japanese ace Kenta Maeda told the Hiroshima Carp that he would like to play in the majors next season, according to the Associated Press.

In order for that to happen, the Carp would have to allow Maeda to go through the posting system. Under the new system, the Carp could demand a posting fee of up to $20 million for the rights to negotiate with Maeda. Every team willing to meet that posting fee would be allowed to negotiate with Maeda for 30 days. Only the team that signs Maeda would have to pay the posting fee.

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The Carp are reportedly considered Maeda’s request, though it’s assumed they’ll allow him an opportunity to play in the United States. Due to Maeda’s fantastic track record in Japan, the Carp could probably ask for the maximum $20 million posting fee, and still receive interest from a number of teams.

The 27-year-old Maeda has been one of the best pitchers in Nippon Professional Baseball since joining the league in 2000. He’s won the Sawamura Award, the equivalent of the Cy Young, twice. Last season, Maeda posted a 2.09 ERA over 206 1/3 innings while striking out 175 batters.

Maeda has a similar track record to both Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka, but he doesn’t have the same upside. A 2013 scouting report from Baseball America’s Ben Badler describes Maeda as slightly less overpowering than Tanaka.

Maeda is a slightly-built 6 feet, 160 pounds and throws around 87-93 mph with good sink and run, though he doesn’t get great angle on his fastball. He’s a good athlete, which helps him repeat his delivery and thrive when his command, which can be plus at times, is on point. Maeda doesn’t have one knockout secondary pitch, but he has a solid-average slider and mixes in a curveball and a changeup as well.

Later in the piece, an international scouting director says he believes Maeda can be a solid No. 4 starter in the majors.

Earlier this offseason, our own Jeff Passan ranked Maeda as the 21st best free-agent on the market. Passan expressed similar concerns, saying teams were unsure about Maeda’s eventual upside.

Despite that, teams are gladly expected to pay the $20 million posting fee just to negotiate with the pitcher. After seeing the success of both Darvish and Tanaka, teams don’t want to miss out on what could be another incredible bargain.

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Maeda may lack No. 1 upside, but that makes him similar to all the second and third tier pitchers on the market. He might come cheaper, but produce the same numbers as those players. Combine that with a solid scouting report, and Maeda looks like a pretty desirable asset.

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