Kenta Maeda Aims to Pitch in Japan in 2026 | SportsLook A decade after he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, current minor leaguer Kenta Maeda says this is his final season pitching in North America.

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Cubs Sign RHP Kenta Maeda to Minor-League Deal The 37-year-old will look to get his career back on track with one of baseball's better pitching labs on the Northside.

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Kenta Maeda's struggles add another strain to an understaffed Tigers bullpen Detroit – This all is uncharted water for Kenta Maeda. He has built a stellar 18-year career in this game, half in his native Japan and the last nine years in the big leagues. He’s had ups and downs like every player does in this game, but there's been nothing that could prepare him for what he’s going through right now. “I’ve been struggling mightily since the last two years,” Maeda said through interpreter Daichi Sekizaki Saturday morning. “I’ve never struggled this bad in my entire baseball career. It’s no secret that at times I’ve felt very negative about pitching. “But I can’t let that eat me up. I can’t give in. I have to find a way to come out of it and stay strong, stay positive.” Night’s like Friday don’t help. He hadn’t pitched since Monday and he was summoned for the ninth inning with the Tigers up 7-1. Mop up duty, something else he’s not had to deal with in his career. And the inning completely got away from him. Two singles, a wild pitch, a catcher’s interference and a walk. Suddenly a run was in, the bases were loaded and manager AJ Hinch was coming to get him. “We’ve got to be able to get through that ninth inning,” Hinch said after Tommy Kahnle came in, got the final two outs and stranded the tying run at the plate. “Kenta can do it. It just looks like things are off with him and he’s not executing at all. “When you’re doing that, no matter what type of game you’re pitching in or how often you pitch, it’s a bad feeling.” Maeda’s ineffectiveness (he’s allowed seven earned runs in six innings this season) is having a serious trickledown effect on the Tigers’ pitching plans, too. With Keider Montero up serving as a temporary sixth starter through this heavy patch of scheduling, Hinch has one less reliever in the bullpen. And on Friday night he used four relievers to get to the ninth, including Tyler Holton and Kahnle, who had pitched Thursday. Maeda’s inability to get through the ninth probably cost Hinch the ability to use Kahnle on Saturday. Also, John Brebbia needed 31 pitches to get through the eighth. And even though Holton only threw three pitches Friday, Hinch has resisted using any reliever three games in a row this early in the season. The issue became more acute Saturday when the Tigers placed Brebbia on the 15-day injured list with a right triceps strain. Maeda understands this, of course. “It’s not very easy to go out there and pitch without a schedule and maintain my body condition to be ready physically and mentally,” he said. “That’s not an easy thing and I’m in the midst of trying to figure out what’s best for me to stay ready for whenever the times comes for me to pitch. “There would be times that I didn’t pitch for multiple days and then you see back-to-back outings. Things like that I have to get used to.” Maeda’s fastball velocity, which was 92 mph in spring, has been right at 90 mph this month. More bothersome, he’s walked five in six innings and has career-worst 59.7% strike rate and 50% first-pitch strike rate. “It all comes down to the strike zone,” Hinch said. “When he gets in trouble is when he doesn’t get first-pitch strikes and he chases bad counts and it seems to pile up on him. The strike zone is usually the answer for everything. “We have to figure it out because we need him. Especially this week when we are down a reliever as it is. There’s going to be situations when we’re going to ask a lot of these guys.” Calling up a lefty The Tigers made another hasty call to Toledo Saturday morning, summoning lefty Bailey Horn to replace Brebbia. Losing Brebbia, especially now, is a blow. He's allowed just one earned run this season in eight games covering nine innings, holding opponents to a .100 batting average and .167 slug. But his last four outings were laborious, like on Friday. He's averaged 25.5 pitches in his last four innings. "The consistency of his pitches have wavered more than normal," Hinch said before the Tigers announced he was going on the IL. "He's usually really pitch-efficient because he can get swing-and-miss with his fastball. When that fastball quality comes down, the swing-and-miss changes into foul balls and you start getting those longer innings." Horn, 27, pitched in 18 games with the Red Sox last season (13 earned runs in 18 innings). The Tigers claimed him off waivers last November, then released him in January, only to acquire him for cash from St. Louis on March 13. He throws an 82-mph sweeper off a 95-mph fastball and when he’s in the zone he can be effective. In his five games at Triple-A Toledo, though, he’s walked eight (with 11 strikeouts) in 8.1 innings. What a catch The Tigers secured the 7-4 win over the Royals Friday night with a sensational game-ending catch by right fielder Zach McKinstry. With the bases loaded and two outs, he completely sold out and made a do-or-die catch on a sinking liner by Drew Waters. “Off the bat I didn’t think I had a chance,” McKinstry said. “I thought it was kind of a blooper and I was just trying to keep it in front. Then I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I have a chance at this. Let’s go for it.’ Hopefully Greeney is there to back me up.” Center fielder Riley Greene was indeed in position to back him up had the ball got past him. If that happened, it would have been a one-run game regardless. Huge play. “Just have to take chances and play the odds,” McKinstry said. “If I think I have a chance, I am going to go for it.” Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com @cmccosky This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Kenta Maeda's struggles add another strain to an understaffed Tigers bullpen

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Down to three: Hinch narrows Tigers' list of candidates for starting rotation Lakeland, Fla. — Even after he rebounded this spring to pitch in a manner the Detroit Tigers more expected a year ago, Kenta Maeda is out — for now — as a rotation starter.  Tigers manager AJ Hinch said Friday that Maeda will work in Detroit’s bullpen when the team’s 2025 season begins next Thursday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.  “What we saw from Kenta this spring was really good,” Hinch said before Friday evening’s Grapefruit League duel against the Yankees at Marchant Stadium/Publix Field. “The guy doesn’t walk people. He strikes out guys. He had one bout with sickness (a virus-sapped start on March 10 at Tampa), but he was really good this spring.  “A couple of wind-blown home runs. His power was up. His fastball (velocity) was up, his split was good. And we’re going to utilize him.”  Maeda, who next month turns 37, was a right-handed option as Hinch bolts together his early rendition of the 2025 Tigers rotation. Maeda's shift to relief means Casey Mize, Jackson Jobe, and Keider Montero are in a three-man chase to grab Hinch’s final two rotation slots behind Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Reese Olson.  Maeda has worked in four Grapefruit games in the past month, including three starts. Other than his bug-diminished day against the Yankees at Tampa (four innings, seven hits, five earned runs), he has pitched — on balance — with some of the zest the Tigers banked on when they signed him early in November 2023, to a two-year, $24-million deal.  He has struck out 19 batters in 12.2 innings and walked one, good for a handsome 1.11 WHIP. Hinch said Maeda would pitch a multi-innings bullpen stint Saturday against the Braves at Lakeland. He also, the skipper said, will throw a single inning against the Giants next week as the Tigers play a pair of exhibition games at San Francisco ahead of Opening Day at L.A.  “Moving him to the bullpen is one thing,” Hinch said, “and who knows if there’s a chance to start some games for us? But I do like the progress he showed.”  Maeda has been “a step better,” Hinch continued, speaking of Maeda’s turnaround following a dismal 2024 season (29 games, a 6.09 ERA, and a mid-season move to the bullpen). “And it really started that way — which is indicative of the work he put in during the winter.   “I know he wants an important role. I think, sometimes, the natural reaction for people in our sport when you don’t make the rotation is that you slide to a long-man role or they think you’re stuffed away in the ‘pen.  “But that’s not true. He can still earn his innings — he can earn important innings. But he wasn’t going to be in the rotation, and like I’ve always said, I was going to tell him as soon as that decision was made.”  Vierling, Meadows updates  Matt Vierling is still healing from his strained rotator cuff but has progressed to taking batting practice, the Tigers said Friday by way of their weekly injury report, while Parker Meadows and his nerve inflammation issue are no closer to being resolved.  “Yeah, with Mattie, it’s encouraging news — just a slow process,” Hinch said of a right fielder and third baseman whose right-handed bat offered Hinch key lineup options. “I feel for him, because he’s not going to go with us (team flight to begin the regular season). I’m encouraged how he’s doing. We just have to stay uber-disciplined to stay on the rehab process.  “We’ll get him healthy and we have a lot of confidence he’s gonna have a good season and play a lot. But we’re not ready to ramp it up to a point of being too aggressive.”  Meadows’ void is even tougher on the Tigers. Their defensive wizard in center, as well as a leadoff batter who could give Hinch’s offense a jolt, Meadows and his left-handed punch will be missing next week and for an indefinite time thereafter.  “Step by step,” Hinch said of Meadows’ progression. “That’s the encouraging part. We just don’t know what that means in its entirety. I think everyone, including Parker would love to have a date on the calendar (for a lineup return).   “We’re just not there yet.”  Lynn Henning is a freelance writer and former Detroit News sports reporter. This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Down to three: Hinch narrows Tigers' list of candidates for starting rotation

Lakeland, Fla. — Even after he rebounded this spring to pitch in a manner the Detroit Tigers more expected a year ago, Kenta Maeda is out — for now — as a rotation starter. 


Tigers manager AJ Hinch said Friday that Maeda will work in Detroit’s bullpen when the… #DetroitTigers #KentaMaeda #AJHinch

Starter Kenta Maeda shines in Tigers' loss to Rays Port Charlotte, Fla. — He is a coy one, Kenta Maeda, delicately answering questions about the quality of his pitches, his strategy about a particular day’s outing, and even how much his obviously leaner and stronger body has changed the past year since…

Port Charlotte, Fla. — He is a coy one, Kenta Maeda, delicately answering questions about the quality of his pitches, his strategy about a particular day’s outing, and even how much his obviously leaner and stronger body has changed the past year since joining Detroit.… #KentaMaeda #Tigers #MLB

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