‘Is the RYU contract like this?’ Maeda signs 2-year, $24 million contract with DET

Kenta Maeda./Getty Images Korea

[마이데일리 = 심혜진 기자] Kenta Maeda (35) seems to be looking for a new team.

MLB.com reporter Mark Feinsand reported on the 27th (Korean time), “Maeda has agreed to a two-year, $24 million contract with Detroit.” However, Detroit has not officially announced it. According to ‘USA Today’ reporter Bob Nightingale, the contract will be officially announced after a physical examination on the 28th.

In January 2016, he entered the major league stage with a ‘slave contract’ with the LA Dodgers worth $25 million guaranteed for 8 years.

Maeda swept 16 wins in 32 games in his first season and achieved a soft landing with an ERA of 3.48. The following year, Maeda recorded 47 wins, 35 losses, and an average ERA of 3.87 for the Dodgers, including 13 wins, before moving to the Minnesota Twins. And in Minnesota, he received Tommy John surgery and earned free agent status with a record of 18 wins, 14 losses and an ERA of 4.02 over four seasons.

Maeda’s agent, Scott Boras, also reported that Maeda is receiving interest from more than 10 clubs.

The teams that showed great interest in Maeda were his hometown Minnesota and the Detroit Tigers. Recently, John Morosi of ‘MLB Network’ reported that Detroit was interested in recruiting Maeda and that they had a very in-depth conversation. “FA Maeda has had very intense talks with Detroit recently,” Morosi said, citing a source.

And this led to a contract. MLB.com commented, “It was a good sign for Maeda, who is in his late 30s, to return to his previous form. He has pitched at least 100 innings every season since 2020. He has now proven that he is healthy and effective after the injury.”

With Maeda’s contract, Ryu Hyun-jin’s contract can also be expected. This is because Maeda and Ryu Hyun-jin had many similarities, including age and injury history. However, Maeda was a year younger than Ryu Hyun-jin, and his surgery was performed a year ago, so he had more to show.

MLB.com said, “Maeda is still looking for ways to fix his arsenal. In 2016, his first year in the major leagues, he threw six pitches more than 10% of the time each. However, in 2023, he threw three pitches: a splitter, a slider, and a four-seam fastball. “I simplified it to throwing at least 25% of the time. Among them, the splitter was the most used at 31.9%,” he said, adding, “Maeda seems perfectly suited to being a reasonable lower-level starting pitcher who must provide quality innings to the team. Even after surgery, “Because his stuff and control are still the same, he is likely to play for several more years even as he gets older,” he analyzed.