Tigers Sign Free Agent Kenta Maeda to Two-Year, $24-Million Contract
This fall’s free-agent market is starting to heat up across Major League Baseball, with the Detroit Tigers becoming the latest team to make a splash.
After scouring the market for mid-level starting pitching, the Tigers landed on right-hander Kenta Maeda, who agreed to a two-year deal worth $24 million on Sunday night. It will allow him to remain in the AL Central following a four-year stint (2020-23) with the Minnesota Twins.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman was the first to report the deal, while ESPN’s Jeff Passan later provided the financial details.
Maeda, who’ll turn 36 next season, was acquired by the Twins organization in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the 2020 campaign, sending Brusdar Graterol and Luke Raley in return.
The veteran righty logged 277.1 innings (52 starts, one relief appearance) over three seasons in Minnesota, pitching to an 18-14 record and a 4.02 ERA. He recorded 310 strikeouts while issuing 70 walks.
Despite making 21 starts in 2021, Maeda finished the season on the IL after undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery, causing him to miss the entire 2022 campaign. That pushed his return to this past season, although it was short lived as his injury woes quickly re-emerged.
In his third start of the year, the Japanese hurler took a 111.6-mph comebacker off his left ankle from Boston’s Jarren Duran, ending his outing after just two innings. Then, after allowing career-highs in runs (10) and hits (11) against the New York Yankees in his next start, he was sidelined for the next two months with a strained right triceps.
Maeda returned in late June, posting a 3.39 ERA with 98 strikeouts over his final 16 starts, resulting in a 6-3 record. He shifted to the bullpen for his last regular-season appearance, a role he maintained during the club’s brief postseason run.
The former Twin was called upon twice during the ALDS versus the Houston Astros, surrendering three runs on six hits, three walks and a wild pitch while punching out four across four combined innings.
Minnesota’s second-round exit from the playoffs marked the conclusion of Maeda’s original eight-year, $25-million contract that he signed with Los Angeles in 2016. He spent his first four seasons in North America out West, following eight seasons in Japan’s NPB.
Starting pitching has been a top priority for the rebuilding Tigers this off-season, with Eduardo Rodriguez opting out of the final three years of his $77 million contract and Spencer Turnbull being non-tendered earlier this winter.
Following Maeda’s arrival, the experienced hurler will join a young – and often-injured – rotation that includes ace Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, Reese Olson and Casey Mize. But considering none of those four eclipsed 100 innings last season, it would be wise to procure another arm or two.
While Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs since 2014, there may not be a better time for the franchise – which placed second in the AL Central in 2023 – to compete for the division title, as rivals like Minnesota and Cleveland continue to shed payroll this off-season.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Dick Thomas Johnson. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.