Dodgers make Kenta Maeda signing official
Over a week after the deal reportedly came together and a few days after there were reported concerns over his physical, the Kenta Maeda signing with the Dodgers has come to fruition.
Today the #Dodgers announced the signing of right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda to an eight-year contract.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 7, 2016
The deal has been reported as eight years and $25 million with plenty of incentives. As part of the deal, the Dodgers had to ship a $20 million posting fee to the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball, as Maeda was still under contract there.
Maeda, 27, was 97-67 with a 2.39 ERA in eight seasons in Japan’s top league. His best year was in 2012, but he was pretty stellar last season, too, going 15-8 with a 2.09 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 175 strikeouts in 206 1/3 innings.
Many see Maeda as a mid-rotation guy but we can’t definitively know until he starts seeing big-league action. He does balance out a lefty-heavy Dodgers rotation, which looks as follows:
1. Clayton Kershaw, L
2. Scott Kazmir, L
3. Maeda, R
4. Brett Anderson, L
5. Hyun-Jin Ryu, L
The next option is also a lefty in Alex Wood, but right-hander Brandon McCarthy is due around mid-season as he returns from Tommy John surgery.
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