Former Dodger Recently DFA'd Signs With NL Central Power

Kenta Maeda arrived in Los Angeles at what was effectively the peak of his powers. In 2016, Maeda made 32 starts, went 16-11 and finished with a 115 ERA+ for the Dodgers. He finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting.

But after four seasons in Los Angeles, Maeda was sent to the Minnesota Twins in the February 2020 trade that sent Brusdar Graterol to the Dodgers.

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But after going 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA in the pandemic-shortened season, Maeda's career fell on hard times. Last season in Detroit, Maeda went 3-7 with a 6.09 ERA in 2024, and finished the season in the bullpen.

Last week, the Tigers released Maeda, who had a 7.88 ERA across seven relief appearances. Thursday, the Chicago Cubs agreed to a minor league contract with Maeda, who heads back to the National League for the first time since he was traded by the Dodgers.

Craig Counsell confirmed the Cubs are signing Kenta Maeda to a minor league deal.

“He has had success. He’s struggled. … It’s a player you’ve got to have constant conversations with and see where we can make some adjustments and see where he’s at.” @suntimes_sports
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) May 16, 2025

"He has had success," Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters, via Vinnie Duber on Twitter/X. "He’s struggled. … It’s a player you’ve got to have constant conversations with and see where we can make some adjustments and see where he’s at.”

Maeda, 37, is 68-56 with a 4.20 ERA in his major league career. He was 97-67 with a 2.39 ERA from 2008-15. He signed with the Dodgers as a 27-year-old in January 2016 after being posted by the Hiroshima Carp.

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While Maeda started 103 games for the Dodgers from 2016-19, he settled into a bullpen role every postseason from 2017 onward. During the Dodgers' march to the 2017 World Series, he held opponents scoreless in eight of his nine postseason appearances, the lone exception being a home run he allowed to Jose Altuve in Game 5 of the 2017 World Series in Houston.

Back then, however, Maeda's 29 percent chase rate and 27 percent whiff rate were above average compared to his peers among starting pitchers, rates that played up out of the bullpen. In his limited appearances with the Tigers this season, Maeda's chase rate had fallen to 22.6 percent.

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Maeda is the second member of the 2017 Dodgers' rotation to sign a minor league contract this week. Rich Hill, 45, recently inked a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals after not pitching in spring training. Still another 2017 Dodgers pitcher, Ross Stripling, announced earlier this month that he is retiring.

For Maeda, the Cubs (25-19, first place in the National League Central) offer an attractive landing spot after a couple of disappointing seasons in Detroit. If he's unable to crack their major league roster, however, it would not be a surprise if Maeda has thrown his final pitch in the majors.

More to come on this story from Dodgers on SI.