Hiroshima Toyo Carp The
Hiroshima Toyo Carp of
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) selected Maeda out of
PL Gakuen Senior High School in the 2006 NPB draft. He played in 2007 for the Carp's secondary team, before being called up to the NPB team in 2008. Maeda won the
Sawamura Award as the league's best pitcher in both 2010 and 2015 and was the youngest pitcher in Japanese baseball history to achieve the pitching
Triple Crown. The Carp chose to make him available to
Major League Baseball (MLB) teams through the
posting system in December 2015. The deal was structured in this manner because Maeda's original physical with the team revealed some unspecified "irregularities." The Dodgers also paid a $20 million
posting fee to the Hiroshima Carp. Maeda picked up the win in his MLB debut on April 6, 2016, pitching six shutout innings against the
San Diego Padres at
Petco Park. His first major league strikeout was of Padres starter
Andrew Cashner in the top of the second inning. He also hit a
home run off of Cashner in his second at-bat for his first major league hit. and was selected by
Baseball America to their all-rookie team. He made three starts in the post-season for the Dodgers, losing one game in the
Division Series and pitching two no-decisions in the
Championship Series. He allowed eight runs in 10 innings.
2017 In 2017, Maeda began the season in the starting rotation but struggled in April and May, with a 5.16 ERA causing him to be taken out of the rotation and tried in relief. He pitched three innings out of the pen on June 9 to pick up his first career save. On June 18 he was back in the rotation and allowed only one run on three hits in five innings However, he only appeared in one game in relief before returning to the starting rotation and from June 18 through August 25, he had gone 8–2 with a 2.70 ERA as a starter. At the end of the season, the Dodgers moved Maeda back into the bullpen in order to try him in that role for possible use in the playoffs. Overall during the regular season he appeared in 29 games with 25 starts and had a record of 13–6 with a 4.22 ERA. He pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts in the
NLDS and three scoreless innings in the
NLCS. In the
World Series, which the Dodgers lost in seven games, Maeda pitched 5 innings over four games and allowed one run on four hits. Right-handed batters had just four hits in 32 at-bats against him in the post-season. On August 14 he returned to the bullpen and made 19 relief appearances, going 2–3 with two saves while posting a 3.57 ERA. He struck out 26 batters and walked only 3 as a reliever. He finished the season 8–10 with 153 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.81 in innings over 39 games. On July 25, 2020, Maeda made his Twins debut. On August 12, he earned his 50th MLB career win. On August 18, Maeda pitched a no-hitter through 8 innings against the
Milwaukee Brewers. He struck out 12 batters (8 consecutively, which was a new Twins record) with 2 walks. The no-hitter was broken by
Eric Sogard, the first batter Maeda faced in the top of the 9th inning. In the 2020 season, he was 6–1 with a 2.70 ERA. He led the major leagues in
WHIP (0.750). He finished as the runner-up for the 2020 American League
Cy Young Award behind
Shane Bieber. In 2021, Maeda went 6–5 with a 4.66 ERA. On September 1, 2021, it was announced that Maeda had undergone
Tommy John surgery and would miss the entire 2022 season. Maeda returned to the Twins rotation to start the 2023 season, only to suffer a setback on April 26 that put him on the injured list until June 23. He finished the season with a 6–8 record, a 4.23 ERA, and 117 strikeouts in innings.
Detroit Tigers On November 28, 2023, Maeda signed a two-year, $24 million, contract with the
Detroit Tigers. Maeda struggled to a 7.26 ERA across his first 16 starts, and the Tigers announced he would be moving to the
bullpen for the "foreseeable future" on July 11, 2024. He fared better as a reliever, posting a 3.86 ERA in 42 innings. Overall, Maeda finished the worst season of his career with a 3–7 record and 6.09 ERA with 96 strikeouts in innings pitched across 29 games (17 starts). Maeda battled for the fifth starter role in spring training of 2025, losing out to
Casey Mize. Maeda started the season in the Tigers' bullpen. In seven relief outings for Detroit, he struggled to a 7.88 ERA with eight strikeouts across eight innings pitched. He was
designated for assignment by the Tigers on May 1, 2025. Maeda cleared waivers and was released by the team on May 7. in 2025
Chicago Cubs On May 16, 2025, Maeda signed a minor league contract with the
Chicago Cubs. In 12 starts for the Triple-A
Iowa Cubs, he logged a 3-4 record and 5.97 ERA with 45 strikeouts across innings pitched.
New York Yankees On August 4, 2025, Maeda signed a minor league contract with the
New York Yankees organization. He made eight starts for the Triple-A
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, posting a 3-3 record and 4.64 ERA with 38 strikeouts across innings pitched.
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles On November 25, 2025, Maeda signed a two-year contract with the
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of
Nippon Professional Baseball. ==International career==