Exactly four years ago today, the Los Angeles Dodgers introduced Kenta Maeda as the newest member of their team and rotation. The Dodgers signed Maeda to one of the more interesting contracts in recent memory. It was an eight-year deal that guaranteed Kenta three million dollars a season. With various incentives for innings pitched and starts made each season, Maeda could earn around $11 million a year.
Kenta Maeda was a teammate of former Dodger Hiroki Kuroda with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Kenta pitched in the NPB from 2008 to 2015 and twice won the award for the league’s best pitcher, which is the Sawamura award.