MLB Trade Rumors 2016: Kenta Maeda Set to Move to Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers may have acquired a future star in Kenta Maeda, with the Japanese pitching sensation agreeing to a contract on Thursday, though the actual numbers and terms haven't been released yet.
According to reports, it should be no less than five years and the official word will come out before next week, when Maeda's 30-day posting period ends.
Adding a foreign pitcher is no longer new to this franchise, having signed several Japanese pitchers before. As a matter of fact, once Maeda makes it official, he will be the sixth Japanese-born pitcher in Dodgers' history.
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The 27-year-old is a young right hander who already has accomplished a lot in his country. He won the Sawamura Award twice and has represented his country in various international baseball competitions. The Sawamura Award is the most prestigious award a professional baseball pitcher can have in Japan.
With this new international posting system, Major League Baseball teams get the opportunity to negotiate with a particular player for 30 days. As for Maeda's case, his Japanese club, Hiroshima Carp, posted him last Dec.4, which means that any team including the Dodgers can negotiate with Maeda within 30 days of the posting. The catch, though, is that that team will have to agree to pay the mother club a maximum fee of $20 million. This fee does not cover the salary the Dodgers will pay to Maeda once he agrees on a contract.
It is actually a big gamble for MLB teams like LA to spend that kind of amount to a foreign-based or born player who does not have any experience playing in the United States. However, Maeda's potential is just way too good to pass up.
This will be another impressive move by the team after announcing last week that they have acquired veteran left-hander Scott Kazmir to a deal worth three years. The team now comes with a very formidable rotation already made up of Clayton Kershaw, Brett Anderson, Alex Wood, and Hyun-Jin Ryi
