Japanese ace Kenta Maeda an intriguing option for many MLB teams

We can add Kenta Maeda to the list of available free agent starting pitchers after the Hiroshima Carp finally agreed to post the 27-year-old right-hander.

Maeda had asked the Carp to allow him to explore major-league opportunities as far back as two years ago, but until now they had declined to do so.

A two-time Sawamura Award as Japan’s top pitcher, Maeda went 15-8 with a 2.09 ERA in 2015 for Hiroshima and impressed scouts while pitching for Japan at the recent Premier 12 tournament.

Now that Maeda, ranked 21st in Jeff Passan’s Ultimate Free-Agent Tracker, is on the market, there are sure to be a number of MLB teams that are intrigued enough by his talent to make a bid. 

It’ll cost $20 million for those teams to get a seat at the negotiating table – only the team that signs him has to part ways with their money, though – and as we saw with Masahiro Tanaka the bidding can get quite competitive. So which big-league teams can we expect to be in the mix for Maeda?

The Arizona Diamondbacks have surfaced as the early favorite and their interest in Maeda dates back to last year. The D-backs reportedly offered Johnny Cueto a six-year deal worth $120 million, so it’s pretty clear they’re willing to pay up for a top pitcher.

The Boston Red Sox have already handed left-hander David Price a record seven-year, $217 million deal, but in their quest to go from cellar-dwellers to contenders in the AL East they’ll continue to do their due diligence on potential rotation upgrades.

Another landing spot for Maeda could be the San Francisco Giants, who have been linked to other free agent starters. The Seattle Mariners also figure to be involved, considering their long, successful history with Japanese players. After sniffing around Price, the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs would be a logical fit. And if Zack Greinke leaves Los Angeles, the Dodgers would be wise to investigate, too. Don’t count out the Yankees for placing a call when Maeda is officially posted, either.

Maeda isn’t a power arm like Tanaka and Yu Darvish but his floor as a mid-rotation innings-eater is appealing to many major-league teams and his ceiling as a capable No. 2 starter has those same teams very excited.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr