The Dodgers have added two starting pitchers in the past two days after landing Japanese import Kenta Maeda, per Jon Heyman. Details of Maeda's agreement aren't yet known.
Maeda was still under contract with the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, so the Dodgers owe them a posting fee, likely the $20 million maximum.
Maeda, 27, was 97-67 with a 2.39 ERA in eight seasons in Japan's top league. His best year was in 2012, but he was pretty stellar last season, too, going 15-8 with a 2.09 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 175 strikeouts in 206 1/3 innings.
The word from the scouting community is that Maeda profiles as a mid-level starter in Major League Baseball. He is a 6-foot right-hander.
With this deal, the Dodgers' rotation heading into the year looks like it will include Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir, Maeda, Brett Anderson and Hyun-jin Ryu, with Alex Wood available as a backup option in case Ryu isn't back from injury. Brandon McCarthy will open the year on the disabled list as he recovers from Tommy John surgery and top prospect Julio Urias isn't far away from hitting the bigs, either.
