The offseason hasn't gone quite as the Los Angeles Dodgers have planned. After losing out on Zack Greinke, the team later fell short on signing Jeff Samardzija, Johnny Cueto among others. But after signing Scott Kazmir a few days ago, it appears things are back on track in Los Angeles with news that they've signed Japanese starter Kenta Maeda.
The 27-year-old Maeda was posted by his Japanese club the Hiroshima Carp in early December and was expected to draw in a $20 million posting fee. With the news that the Dodgers have signed him, it should be very interesting to hear the details and length of the contract, given they already had to pay $20 million just to negotiate with him.
Maeda finished his last season in Japan with a 2.09 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 175/41 K/BB ratio over 206 1/3 innings pitcher. He was the top international player on the market this offseason and given his age, was even more of an attractive target for teams in need of pitching.
Maeda is right-handed, making him the only Dodgers' projected pitcher in the rotation who is a righty. Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Kazmir and Brett Anderson are all left-handed.
Financial terms and the length of the contract are not yet available.