Kenta Maeda wants to be posted
Hiroshima Toyo Carp RHP Kenta Maeda wants to be posted by his team. But the Carp have not directly agreed with this request. In the Japanese press the club is saying that it is carefully weighing the options.
Maeda, born on April 11 1988, has pitched his entire career for the Carp. In 2010 he was awarded with the Sawamura Award (the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young award). In that season he posted the following 
numbers: 15-8 and a 2.21 ERA, with 174 strikeouts in 215 and 2/3 innings, and six complete games with two shutouts.
Except for his first two seasons, in which he posted +3.00 ERAs, his ERA never got above 2.60. Over eight years his K/BB ratio was 3.87
The Arizona Diamondbacks seem to be the front runners in acquiring Maeda. GM Dave Stewart recently said that he’s continued to monitor the Japanese righty.
Recently with the Premier 12, Maeda had two start. Of those two starts he won one game and got a no-decision. His ERA over the two games was 1.50 and he kept his opponents to a batting average of .205. In the final game of round one, Maeda kept Puerto Rico limited to four hits and struck out seven hitters.
Today Maeda met with a Carp official. Their meeting lasted about an hour.
If the Carp decide not to post Maeda, he is expected to earn his national free agency after the 2016 season and the international free agency after the 2017 season.
Next to the question whether Maeda will be posted this year, there is one question that remains: Are there other clubs than the D-Backs interested in the best Japanese pitcher of 2015? Japanese clubs have the reputation to overuse pitchers. 110-120 pitches per game are not a rarity with the result that many are bothered by injuries once they play in the Majors.
If the Carp decides to keep Maeda for the 2016 season it remains to be seen what they will pay him. He was rather underpaid with an amount of $2.4 million in 2015. The team would be crazy if they will not post him this year or next year, so they can cash in a sloppy $20 million.