Kenta Maeda wants to “join the Giants” if he returns to Japan: …… Why not Hiroshima, his old home, and his “true feelings” before the season

A return to the Japanese baseball world is also in the cards.

On May 7 (local time), the Tigers of Major League Baseball announced that they had announced the release of Kenta Maeda (37) from waivers and signed him to a minor league contract with the Cubs on May 16, with the intention of reinvigorating him.

He was the ace of the Hiroshima baseball team and won the hearts of children with his unique “Maeken gymnastics,” and in 2016, the team approved posting for him to join the Dodgers, his dream team in Major League Baseball, and he went on to play for the Twins and Tigers. He moved on to the Twins and then the Tigers.

He was paid $10 million (about 1.44 billion yen) by the Tigers, but his seven appearances were all in the middle innings and he was not very good.

Maeda had long said that he wanted to spend 10 years in the majors, because players who have been in the major leagues for 10 years are paid a pension of more than 20 million yen a year.

However, he has maintained contact with the Japanese baseball world, including a conversation with Hiroshima alumnus Tomohiro Abe, 35, on a local Hiroshima TV program last offseason and guest commentary for the 2023 Japan Series between the Orix and Hanshin teams.

In recent years, Maeda himself has increasingly told people that he wants to finish his professional baseball career in Japan. The reason why Maeda has started to give interviews to Carp people and even to local TV programs is because he is trying to rebuild the relationship that had been severed. If he does not achieve the desired results with the Cubs, there is no doubt that he will make a “surprise return” to the Japanese baseball world.

After the news broke, several Japanese baseball insiders were reported to have confirmed Maeda’s intention through related parties. A front office of a Central League team said, “Maeda’s return to the Carp would be ideal.

The ideal situation would be for Maeda to return to the Carp, but we have enough pitchers, so we are not actively looking at him at this time. He has expressed a desire to live in Tokyo due to family reasons, and several Tokyo-based teams in the Central and Pacific League are getting excited. The question is how far they can discount his salary. It may be difficult to get him unless he shows some visible “sincerity,” such as cutting off his manager’s and coach’s checks after he finishes his active career. ……

The person in question seems to have mentioned the names of teams other than the Carp. ……

In January of this year, Maeda had dinner with Mr. A, an alumnus of professional baseball who is a popular guest on variety shows. In addition to Mr. A, there were baseball people and women who were acquaintances of Mr. A at the party. When the meeting was drawing to a close, a very tipsy Maeda said, “If I could go, I’d go to the Giants at the end, wouldn’t I? (laugh).

(Laughs). That is how Mr. A found out that Maeda wanted to join the Giants. The Giants have Masahiro Tanaka and Hayato Sakamoto, who are the same age as Maeda, and Maeda’s family also wants him to join the Giants. The Giants are probably one step ahead in the race for him.

After Masahiro Tanaka, Maeken is next. Will the Giants be able to “catch the big one” once again?