Editorials

Dodgers: Contract Obligations for Kenta Maeda

Last season, Kenta Maeda appeared in 39 games for the Dodgers, starting 20 of those games.

It was mid-August when Dave Roberts announced that Maeda would shift from the rotation to the bullpen. Kenta, along with Alex Wood were shifted to help fill the void left in the bullpen by an unwell Kenley Jansen.



In and of itself, the move made sense on paper, however, it didn’t make sense for Kenta Maeda’s bank account.

For those that may not remember, Maeda was signed during the 2015-2016 off-season to a contract that was heavily incentivized.

Officially, the contract was for 8-years and $25mm guaranteed — a very team friendly deal.

The incentives, however, could bring the contract value up over $100mm, based on one thing… Maeda needs to stay in the rotation.

Starter vs Reliever

Of course, many fans and “experts” alike felt that after his dominant performance out of the bullpen during the 2017 postseason, Kenta was destined to be the setup man of the future.

While 2018 was a bit of a step back, Maeda has proven useful both starting the game, and in relief during his career.

Regular season numbers:

G/GS ERA IP K BB
Starter 77 3.84 409.2 436

123

Relief 23 3.16 25.6 36 4

Postseason numbers:

G ERA IP K BB
Starts 3 7.06 10.2 12 7
Relief 17 2.11 17.1 20 5

Rework the contract

Chances are that if he isn’t traded this off-season, Kenta will continue to pitch in something of a swing-man role for the Dodgers. So why not compensate the player accordingly for his service?

An easy comparison contract was signed this very off-season by long time Cardinal ace Adam Wainwright.

The contract calls for incentives based on starts and relief appearances:

For games started, he’ll earn $500K upon his fifth start, $1MM upon his tenth and 15th, $1.5MM for his twentieth, and $2MM apiece for his 25th and 30th. Maxing out this run of bonuses would add $8MM of salary.

For relief appearances, Wainwright can earn $500K apiece for every fifth appearance, beginning at #35 and ending at #60. That provides an avenue to $3MM in extra money.

For games finished, Wainwright will receive $500K for the 25th and 30th game in which he records the final out and $600K for every fifth game finished beginning at #35 and ending at #55. If Wainwright serves as the Cards’ closer and meets all of those thresholds, he’d tack on another $4MM, meaning he could in total earn up to an additional $7MM in a relief capacity.

A good starting point to visit for Andrew Friedman, and whoever is left in that front office.

Back in time

A reworked contract was, of course, already brought up soon after the move to the bullpen was made.

I even had a radical idea early last season.

These conversations have been happening off and on for some time now.

For a little context, here’s a Tweet from our friend Tim Rogers about Kenta from 2017:

Plain and simple, the contract isn’t fair for Kenta, and it needs to be discussed before next season begins.

Make it happen, Dodgers.

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Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

2 Comments

  1. Maeda’s performance as a mid-rotation SP and very team friendly contract (5 more years of team control) makes him a prime trade chip. Perhaps in a package for help at catcher, or RH hitting OF’er, or second baseman, or setup/closer BP help.

    1. Hello SoCal and a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and family. I only differ in saying Wood, another LHP of which we have several still, should be dealt first for help in those areas you mentioned.

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