The New York Yankees recently made a low-risk move, bringing in Kenta Maeda on a minor-league contract last week.
Maeda had already spent this season in the majors with the Tigers and struggled, and in the minors with the Cubs and struggled.
So this was close to his last chance, and the Yanks figured they might as well give it a go.
Maeda showed Saturday that there may be more left in the tank than it seemed when he had a 7.88 ERA for the Tigers early this season.
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The 37-year old Japanese right-hander started for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.
Maeda threw 91 pitches over six innings. He didn’t allow a run or walk any hitters. He gave up five hits and struck out seven.
Kenta Maeda’s first start in the minors with the Yankees:
6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 91 P pic.twitter.com/1y9UtEhSUd
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 10, 2025
The 6-foot-1 right-hander was once a star in Japan who the Los Angeles Dodgers signed before the 2016 season.
He pitched four strong years with the Dodgers, combining for a 47-35 record and a 3.87 ERA.
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Maeda went to the Minnesota Twins from there, and he spent four seasons in Minneapolis. He was healthy for three of the campaigns and totaled an 18-14 record with a 4.02 ERA with the Twins.
The Tigers took a shot on Maeda before the 2024 season, but he had a 6.09 ERA in 29 appearances.
In the early goings of this season, Maeda had a 7.88 ERA exclusively out of Detroit’s bullpen before his release.
After signing with the Cubs, Maeda made 12 starts for Triple-A Iowa. In those outings, he had a 5.97 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 57.1 innings.
Now he’s with the Yankees, and maybe it’s a fluke, but his first Triple-A start showed he might still have a chance to make something happen in the Bronx. The Yanks certainly wouldn’t complain if that was the case.
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