The Detroit Tigers have signed right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda to a two-year contract worth $24 million, the major league club said Tuesday.
The 35-year-old from Osaka Prefecture will make $14 million in 2024 and $10 million in 2025. He will also make an annual donation to the Tigers Foundation, for a total of $120,000 over the next two years, according to the club.
Making his return after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2021, Maeda had a 6-8 record with a 4.23 ERA in 21 games this year for the Minnesota Twins.
Over his final 16 starts of the season, he went 6-3 and helped the Twins win the American League Central division title.
"We wanted to add a veteran presence in our rotation that could both help us win games and influence our young starters," said Scott Harris, the club's president of baseball operations.
"Kenta does a lot of things very well. He's a plus-strike-thrower. He has multiple swing-and-miss secondary options. He's an excellent competitor."
Maeda has a 65-49 record with a 3.92 ERA in 190 games, 155 of them starts, for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Twins in his major league career.
Prior to moving to North America, Maeda spent eight seasons with the Central League's Hiroshima Carp, compiling a 97-67 record with a 2.39 ERA.