More pitching is about to hit the free agent market, and teams unwilling to spend $30 million-plus a year on Zack Greinke may have their slightly less expensive solution. Kenta Maeda, the 27-year-old ace of Japan’s Hiroshima Carp, is being posted for $20 million according to Yahoo Japan.
Maeda posted a 15-8 record and 2.09 ERA over 2016 1/3 innings for the Carp in 2015, and introduced an effective changeup to his arsenal that now gives him three plus pitches. Maeda already has a fastball that tops out at 94 miles per hour, and a plus slider. He has the floor of a No. 4 starter in MLB, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America (via MLB Trade Rumors). Maeda is said to rely more on the slider as his secondary weapon, but one scout hyped the new changeup to Badler.
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“I didn’t think his slider was very good that day (against Mexico), but his changeup was nasty. He was throwing it to righthanders and lefthanders. To me, that was his best pitch,” the scout said.
Maeda, although expensive, would not cost a draft pick to sign in free agency. The deep-pocketed Yankees make sense, because even though they are saddled with a number of brutal contracts, Maeda is only 27.
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The Yankees also have a history of signing top players in Japan, with varying success. Hideki Matsui become a Yankee great and World Series champion, and Masahiro Tanaka, whom the Yankees signed two years ago, enters 2016 as the staff ace. They had less success with Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa, both starting pitchers, but have proven willing to gamble on elite foreign talent.
The Yankees could have stiff competition for Maeda from the Diamondbacks, who splurged on Cuban third baseman/outfielder Yasmany Tomas last season, and have had interest in Maeda since 2014.
At GMs meetings, Dave Stewart also indicated #Dbacks have been keeping a close watch on Japanese righty Kenta Maeda.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) November 14, 2015
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