Kenta Maeda was born on April 11, 1988 in Japan.
The Hiroshima Toyo Carp selected him in the 2006 NPB Draft. He was a five time NPB All-Star, and won the Japanese triple crown in 2010. Maeda signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the 2017 season ahead of his age 28 season.
He went 47-35 with a 3.87 ERA over four seasons with the Dodgers, making 103 starts and 34 relief appearances. Maeda eventually grew frustrated with the Dodgers, believing his occasional stints in the bullpen were part of an organizational effort to make him fall short of inning based incentive bonuses that were in his contract. His eight year deal with Los Angeles was very incentive laden, worth just $25 million guaranteed with a maximum value of $90 million.
The Minnesota Twins acquired Maeda in a trade on February 10, 2020. He led the American League with a 0.750 WHIP during the COVID shortened 2020 campaign. Maeda went 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA over 11 starts that summer, finishing second in the AL Cy Young voting. His stellar season included bringing a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers on August 18th. He allowed one or zero runs four times.
Maeda was named the Opening Day starter in 2021. He pitched well for the most part, but was charged with seven earned runs on two occasions that season; April 21st against the Oakland Athletics and June 29th against the Chicago White Sox. These two outings ballooned his ERA and other stats a bit. Maeda went 6-5 with a 4.66 ERA over 21 starts. His season ended in late August when it was revealed he needed to undergo Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire 2022 season.
His return to big league action came on April 4, 2023. Maeda tossed five innings of one run ball against the Miami Marlins, but suffered the loss after the Minnesota offense was shutout. Maeda was placed on the injured list with a triceps strain after allowing ten earned runs across three innings against the New York Yankees on April 26th. He returned two months later, and was one of the Twins best pitchers through the middle portion of the regular season. Maeda posted a 2.36 ERA over his first ten starts after returning from the injured list, striking out 62 hitters in 49.2 innings during that span.
He finished 2023 with a 4.23 ERA across 20 starts. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli used him in long relief during the postseason, and Maeda saw action in two games during the ALDS that fall.
The Detroit Tigers signed Maeda to a two year, $24 million deal ahead of the 2024 season. He went 3-7 with a 6.09 ERA during his first season in Detroit, getting left off their playoff roster. Maeda allowed eight runs in eight innings out of the Tigers bullpen in the early portion of 2025, and was designated for assignment. He signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs, but was released after recording a 5.97 ERA over 12 starts at the Triple-A level. Maeda finished the season in the New York Yankees farm system, posting a 5.26 ERA in seven starts for their Triple-A team.