Detroit Tigers Disappointing Signing Seems Determined To Bounce Back This Year

The Detroit Tigers are well in the thick of spring training, getting started with games on Saturday afternoon.

Manager A.J. Hinch raised some eyebrows when he decided who he was going to start for the first actual game in Lakeland, announcing last year's free agent signing Kenta Maeda would be taking the bump against the Philadelphia Phillies.

After signing a lucrative two-year deal with the Tigers last winter, things didn't go well for Maeda and he finds himself in limbo as he gets set for the second year, still on the books for another $10 million in 2025.

Getting off to a disastrous beginning over his 17 starts for Detroit, Maeda posted an ERA of 7.42 as a starter.

Things improved once he mercifully got moved to the bullpen with a 3.86 ERA in 12 relief appearances at the end of the regular season, enough so that the team is willing to give him another chance to earn a spot back in the starting rotation during what is a competitive battle to fill out the back end.

With the only real locks for the rotation at least at the start of the season being Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, and Reese Olson, Maeda is competing with guys like top prospect Jackson Jobe as well as former highly regarded prospects Casey Mize and Matt Manning for innings before the return of Alex Cobb from a hip injury.

Even though he was solid from the bullpen, Maeda seems determined to have a bounce back season and demonstrate to the Tigers that he is someone who needs to be included as one of the five starters.

"I've been a starter all my career," Maeda said via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. "I pride myself as a starter. For this spring, I'm here to compete to earn a spot in the starting rotation. I'll give my 100% to do that...The Tigers have invested two years in me, I couldn't contribute as much as I wanted to in the first year, so this is the year that I'll be contributing. I'll be better than last year."

Petzold shared the scuttlebutt throughout camp has been Maeda coming in and throwing the ball much hard than he did last spring, reaching 92 mph during his first live batting practice session, a number which if accurate would be significantly faster than the 86 mph mark last year.

Now 36 years old and turning 37 in April, this season is likely a last chance for Maeda to prove he still belongs on an MLB roster at all let alone in a big league starting rotation.

Detroit does not need the righty to be the same pitcher he was when he finished as the runner-up for the American League Cy Young with the Minnesota Twins in 2020, but if he can show he's able to provide depth and stability in the back end of the rotation, they would be thrilled.

For all his struggles last season, Maeda seems determined to right his wrongs and prove the Tigers made a good investment in him. With his mindset seemingly in a very positive place, he will have a tremendous chance to do just that.

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