The Los Angeles Dodgers is indeed as force to be reckoned with in the coming seasons. Aside from the reported signing in of veteran left-hander Scott Kazmir last week, it is now being reported that the Dodgers had managed to acquire one of Japan's accomplished pitcher, Kenta Maeda.
The 27 year old pitcher will be tested in the Major Baseball League, wherein the Dodger hoped that they have acquired a future star in the persona of the Japanese baseball sensation, who managed to achieve the most prestigious award a professional baseball pitcher can have in Japan, and not just once but twice.
ESPN.com's Jim Bowden and Mark Saxon confirmed the said deal, and it was Joel Sherman of the New York Post who reported that the contract is good for eight years and worth $25 million with included incentives. The said contract was not an easy catch for the Dodgers, for the Japanese club, Hiroshima Carp, posted last Dec. 4 the availability for transaction regarding their player Kenta Maeda. Some teams were obviously intrigued by the posting but it was the Dodgers who agreed to pay the mother club of Kenta $20 million aside from the said contract price.
Though it may seem as great gamble for the Dodgers acquiring a player from the Oriental side who had no previous experience playing in the MLB, the team has been known for acquiring some Japanese talents since then. And Kenta would be the sixth Japanese-born pitcher in Dodgers' history. And according to Badler via bleacherreport;
"Maeda is a slightly-built 6 feet, 160 pounds and throws around 87-93 mph with good sink and run, though he doesn't get great angle on his fastball. He's a good athlete, which helps him repeat his delivery and thrive when his command, which can be plus at times, is on point. Maeda doesn't have one knockout secondary pitch, but he has a solid-average slider and mixes in a curveball and a changeup as well."