Kenta Maeda was the Tigers’ largest signing of the 2023-24 offseason, however his tenure in Detroit bought off to a disappointing begin. Kicking off the primary season of a two-year, $24MM deal, he gave up three lengthy balls and 6 runs over 3 1/3 innings in his Tigers debut. It was extra of the identical throughout his first 16 begins: 65 2/3 innings, 15 residence runs, and a 7.26 ERA. Detroit went 5-11 in these contests. Whereas his 4.88 SIERA steered he was due for some optimistic regression, it nonetheless put him among the many backside 10 pitchers (min. 60 IP) within the American League.
Thus, simply earlier than the All-Star break, the Tigers determined to maneuver Maeda to the bullpen indefinitely – though not essentially completely. Certainly, he nonetheless took on a starter’s workload in a number of of his bullpen appearances, throwing at the least 80 pitches out of the ’pen on 4 separate events. He additionally began the ultimate recreation of the common season after the Tigers had already clinched a Wild Card berth. Now, he’s again within the dialog for a job within the beginning rotation in 2025.
President of baseball operations Scott Harris spoke to members of the media (together with Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press) on the GM Conferences in San Antonio, the place he made it clear that Maeda “can have each alternative to earn a job” within the Tigers rotation this spring. The POBO acknowledged that Maeda’s pure stuff and pitchability had been missing early within the yr however famous that the veteran seemed a lot stronger in the summertime months. “I believed he pitched fairly nicely down the stretch for us,” Harris defined.
Certainly, Maeda put up a lot better numbers out of the bullpen, pitching to a 3.86 ERA and three.23 SIERA over 42 innings in July, August, and September. Nonetheless, he struggled as soon as once more upon his return to the rotation for recreation 162, giving up 5 runs on 5 hits in 4 2/3 innings of labor. Nonetheless, it’s hardly stunning the Tigers are giving him one other probability to earn a beginning function. With a $10MM wage for 2025, he’s at the moment the highest-paid pitcher on the workforce. He additionally has a protracted observe report of success as a starter, with a profession 4.23 ERA and three.91 FIP in 171 massive league begins. What’s extra, he was downright dominant in his final totally wholesome season, placing up a 2.70 ERA and a pair of.92 SIERA in 2020 en path to a second-place end for the AL Cy Younger. Admittedly, that was a number of years in the past and a shortened season, however the level stays that Maeda has been a extremely profitable beginning pitcher within the not-too-distant previous. Lastly, the Tigers don’t have any locks for the 2025 rotation past ace Tarik Skubal and promising younger righty Reese Olson. Even when they make a few additions, there will likely be a battle for at the least one spot within the rotation this spring.
Harris re-emphasized that the workforce “may have performed a greater job” getting ready Maeda final winter as he transitioned from the Twins to the Tigers. To that time, the Tigers have designed a brand new program for the right-hander this offseason. As a part of that program, Petzold suggests Maeda will likely be throwing extra recurrently all through the approaching months; final yr, he solely threw one bullpen session again residence in Japan earlier than returning stateside for spring coaching.
It’s removed from a assure that Maeda will re-claim his job within the rotation. Even when he does, it’s no positive factor he’ll keep there all yr lengthy. He’s going to show 37 subsequent April, an age at which it could be truthful to fret about his efficiency even when he weren’t an injury-prone pitcher coming off a career-worst season. And now that the Tigers have formally entered their window of competition, they will’t afford to present him as lengthy of a leash as they may have in years previous. If Maeda goes to be a key contributor for the Tigers subsequent season, he’s going to should earn it by wanting extra like his youthful self and fewer just like the starter he was in 2024.