The New York Yankees have added a veteran pitcher with plenty of experience in both MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
According to MLB.com’s Yuki Yamada, right-hander Kenta Maeda has opted out of his contract with the Chicago Cubs and is signing a minor league deal with the Yankees.
#前田健太 投手はカブスのマイナー契約を破棄して退団。FAとなり、ヤンキースとマイナー契約で合意しました。※写真は6月撮影
Breaking: Kenta #Maeda opted out of his deal with the Iowa Cubs. and he will sign a minor league contract with the Yankees, sources confirmed. pic.twitter.com/wylxd1ZqnA
— 山田結軌MLB記者🇺🇸 (@YamadaMLB) August 3, 2025
Maeda joined Chicago on a minor league pact in May following his release from the Detroit Tigers. In 12 starts for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, he posted a 5.97 ERA over 57 1/3 innings.
The 37-year-old is best known for his time with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of NPB from 2008 to 2015. During that span, he won the Japanese Triple Crown in 2010 and was a five-time All-Star in the league while also winning the Sawamura Award, which is the NPB’s version of the Cy Young Award, in both 2010 and 2015.
Maeda left Japan and signed an eight-year contract worth a base value of $25 million that included tens of millions in potential incentives with the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the 2016 campaign.
Throughout his tenure with the club, which ended following the 2019 season, Maeda recorded a 3.87 ERA across 137 outings (103 starts) and 589 innings.
He was traded to the Minnesota Twins before the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Maeda was the American League Cy Young runner-up that year with a 2.70 ERA in 11 starts and 66 2/3 frames.
He missed the 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but between 2021 and 2023, he pitched to a 4.44 ERA in 210 2/3 innings.
Maeda agreed to a two-year deal worth $24 million with the Tigers in November 2023. After putting up an unsightly 6.09 ERA over 29 appearances (17 starts) and 112 1/3 innings in 2024, he logged a 7.88 ERA across eight innings this season before getting released.
The Yankees didn’t acquire a starting pitcher at the trade deadline, so perhaps they view Maeda as a potential rotation option down the road depending on how he performs with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more!
