By New York Yankees
The New York Yankees have signed RHP Kenta Maeda to a Minor League contract.
Maeda, 37, has gone 68-56 with six saves and a 4.20 ERA (986.2IP, 873H, 486R/460ER, 285BB, 1,055K, 142HR) in 226 career games (172 starts) over nine Major League seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2016-19), Minnesota Twins (2020-21, ’23) and Detroit Tigers (2024-25). His 1,055 career strikeouts are the third-most in Major League history by a Japan-born player. The right-handed pitcher posted a 7.88 ERA (8.0IP, 9H, 8R/7ER, 6BB, 8K, 1HR) in seven relief appearances with the Tigers this season before being designated for assignment on May 1. He was released from the roster on May 7 and signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs on May 15. Maeda went 3-4 with a 5.97 ERA (57.1IP, 54H, 39R/38ER, 25BB, 45K, 8HR) in 12 starts with Triple-A Iowa before being released on Aug. 2.
The Osaka, Japan, native was originally acquired by the Dodgers via the posting system from the Hiroshima Carp of Japan and was signed to an eight-year contract on January 7, 2016. He was acquired by Minnesota from Los Angeles-NL along with C Jair Camargo and cash considerations in exchange for RHP Brusdar Graterol, OF Luke Raley and a Competitive Balance B Pick in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft on Feb. 10, 2020. He was then signed by Detroit to a two-year Major League contract on Nov. 28, 2023.
Maeda has been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.