June 15th, 2017 at 12:00 pm 
by Jacob Rudner Last off-season the Dodgers pulled out all the stops to sign Japanese superstar Kenta Maeda. They signed him to one of the most team friendly long-term deals ever and it paid off big time. Maeda dazzled in his debut season finishing second in the Rookie of the Year race to his teammate Corey Seager and pitched the most innings on the team by a mile. But, to this point in this season, Maeda has not even come close to the pitcher he was last year and has actually looked quite bad on the mound in all but a few of his starts. So, the Dodgers have decided to move him to the bullpen as a long reliever a piggyback starter. In his bullpen debut, Maeda dazzled and took care of the opposition with ease. So, with this newfound success out of the pen, is trade a possibility?
At this point, long relief may be a good option for Kenta Maeda. Dave Roberts announced that Maeda would remain in that role for the foreseeable future and, it may be a smart move when considering the idea of a trade. Maeda showed the world that he is more than capable of being effective out the pen and this effectiveness should ultimately translate to versatility. Versatility is key in today’s front offices as it allows players to remain on the roster if they are struggling in a certain role. In Maeda’s case, the starting job proved to be too much this year so the pen may work as a backup plan.
In his only relief appearance thus far, Maeda allowed one run on three hits with no walks and six strikeouts in his four innings pitched. He also picked up a rare four-inning save.
(Photo credit – Jill Weisleder)
Now, it is important to highlight the words “may work”. Maeda has only had one relief appearance in his short MLB career and last pitched out of the bullpen in his age 20 season back in Japan. So, the sample size is very small. It would be crazy for anyone to say at this point that Maeda is a sure bet out of the pen because, quite frankly, he’s not. Maeda will have to prove himself over the course of a few appearances before anyone can reasonably say this is the role for him.
But, this small sample size may actually be what the Dodgers need to convince another team to buy on Maeda. Even though it seems weird, there is value in mystery. If Maeda can muscle out a few solid relief appearances or, ideally, a few quality starts before the trade deadline then who knows how many of those he will be able to put out in the remainder of the season thus causing mystery and value. In return for Maeda, the Dodgers could seek out another bat for the bench or even a reliever, which they have been rumored to be going after.
The option to trade Maeda in just his second season as a Dodger is definitely risky. Trade is very extreme and it must be a perfect fit for both sides for it to work. Although he has not pitched well as a starter, Maeda would be sure to draw huge interest from teams of all calibers. Teams like the Cubs would be a perfect fit for the struggling right hander because they to have had a hard time with their starting pitchers as a whole. Trading Maeda now may seem like an irrational decision and it may come off as too quick on the draw but the possible return for somebody with the same potential as Kenta is pretty big. Kenta could potentially bring in a big name and that could be the person to push the Dodgers over that final hill to a World Series.
In the end, I am not saying the Dodgers must trade Maeda. Honestly, holding on to Kenta would be great and would probably end up proving to be a good decision. But, with the incredible talent the Dodgers have in both the majors and the minors, the front office may be able to afford flipping him to another team in return for somebody who could potentially plug a hole in the roster. For me, it will all be about the return. If the Dodgers can get a reasonable load for Kenta I think it would be well worth the gamble.
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a few reasons why I believe Dodgers will keep Maeda. first his contract, he is only guaranteed $3MM annually through 2023 with bonuses based on number of starts — an incredibly team friendly contract. Perhaps a more important reason is the potential effect on team’s ability to sign Otani either this year, or next. How would Otani and his representatives view the Dodgers as a suitor after trading Maeda in the middle of his second season of an 8 year contract?
Sorry for the late response to this. I have been having serious computer troubles and Ron can attest to that. But, to the likes of your comment. I agree and disagree with you. First, Maeda’s contract will actually end up being a factor in his potential trade. That is a perfectly worked out contract that any smart team would buy on. No sense in keeping a guy around based on money. Secondly, the Otani signing. I agree in that Maeda could help by virtue of him being Japanese but at the same time it will have little influence on the signing if he is traded. Baseball is a business and players and agents get that. If Maeda is traded it has nothing to do with contract or the team is just based on return and how we can plug a hole. Thank you for reading!
Ryu, Kazmir, and McCarthy contracts are all up after next season (McCarthy has a very affordable team option for 2019) and Kershaw can opt out after next season. Potential free agents Harper, Machado, and Kershaw after 2018 so Maeda’s contract is so team friendly I don’t believe Dodgers will trade him. I believe you may be underestimating the impact on Otani to trade Maeda in only his second season in a long term contract.
I don’t buy the logic that mystery creates value. Sure the mystery and hope that he can perform at high level would be intriguing to teams but that is the classic buy low scenario. I don’t believe the dodgers would receive anyone of substance. Basically some lottery tickets just like Maeda. A classic challenge trade. For the Dodgers to receive value Maeda would have to be performing consistently at a high level and then they could get a good return because of his extremely team friendly contract. But if he is performing at that level then it would be foolish for the Dodgers to trade him with his cheap contract unless the return was overwhelming.
Also complicating the situation is the fact that Maeda’s medicals didn’t check out which led to the Dodgers being able to sign him to that team friendly contract in the first place. While it was never fully disclosed exactly what the issue was there is definitely something wrong with his arm. I believe it was the elbow specifically. That will further drive down the return the Dodgers can obtain. No team is going to give up a lot for a ticking time bomb that could explode at any time. Personally I feel the Dodgers hold on to him unless like I said he is performing so well that they get blown away with an offer. I think he has the tools to be a back end starter and provide them depth or be a multi inning reliever ala Ross Stripling. The one thing that is not talked about much is that he has options and can be sent to AAA to refine things. While I’m sure he does not want to be in the bullpen or sent to AAA for pride reasons in addition to the fact that his contract incentives reward him for starting and accumulating innings it’s pretty hard to justify keeping him starting in MLB if his performance doesn’t justify it and I’m sure he understands that. This front office is going to put together the best 25 possible regardless of hurt feelings. They have demonstrated that many times I know sometimes Ron gets upset and argues to the contrary of this point based on who is currently on the MLB roster or in AAA or particular lineup for the day. Sure I agree sometimes they don’t necessarily have the best 25 assembled but the reason for that is so they can hold on to all of their depth and not lose it. This flexibility pays huge dividends in the regular season. When someone goes down they already have a quality replacement ready to step in without the team missing a beat. This allows them to succeed through a long season and make it to the playoffs. I don’t get overly concerned with the opening day roster or the day to day. I know the Dodgers have enough horsepower to make the playoffs and these roster moves are made in consideration to holding on to as much talent as possible. Now when they set the 25 man playoff roster that’s the one that counts and this front office has shown that they will put the 25 best on that roster without consideration to other factors. With all that said I don’t see the Dodgers dumping Maeda by selling low when he is so cheap. He provides them much needed depth and in the worst case scenario can be in the bullpen or starting in AAA. His performance will determine whether they want him in the playoffs or not.
Sidenote on the Otani subject. I believe the Dodgers have been very accommodating to Maeda with regards to his transition and integrating his routine from Japan. Not to mention letting his translator Will be an integral part of the organization through fielding balls during batting practice and the whole deadlift challenge during Spring Training illustrates this. Then there was last year at the end of the season where the Dodgers went out of their way to let Maeda start and complete the innings he needed to max out the incentives in his contract. If it’s not already evident to Otani that the Dodgers are a first class organization that will do everything possible to make him part of the team I don’t think there is any negatives Maeda can tell him no matter how his situation is going in regards to role and performance. It’s a business and sometimes tough decisions have to be made. He knows his performance currently isn’t up to par. All that said I think the Dodgers are serious contender to land Otani even with their current financial restrictions. I think they figure out a work around to get him more money. Out of high school he was set to sign with the Dodgers and becoming the first ever Japanese player to make the jump straight from high school to America bypassing the NPB. However pressure from the homeland and the threat of being blackballed from the NPB forever changed his mind. So he already has a familiarity with the organization that pioneered the Japanese movement with Nomo and currently employs Maeda. Plus the fact of LA’s large Asian culture. I think the Padres are a dark horse too given the fact that they employ Nomo in the front office for Asian relations. Someone in the Dodgers missed the boat on letting him slip away to the Padres.
I think it’s too soon to make that kind of a decision on Maeda. He just might’ve been off to a bad start this season, in my opinion. I’d have to see more of him, this season.
Shortest response, but the best. Spot on!
Shorter response. I agree.
I’ve seen enough.
Anyone changing their opinions after watching Maeda pitch yesterday? Attacking the strike zone, fastball hit 94 mph, sharp slider, good change-up.
Nope. Not until he gets his ERA under 4.00 and, more importantly, can go longer than five innings.
But it did help his trade value some. ; )
you are tough 🙂 on a pitcher who is 21 and 14 for Dodgers. ERA in June is 2.79.
This just in:
Dave Roberts says Kenta Maeda goes back to bullpen.