#tohoku-rakuten-golden-eagles

#tohoku-rakuten-golden-eagles

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball announced they've signed Kenta Maeda. The 37-year-old righty said in August that he planned to return to his home country next year. A report from Japan's Sankei Sports indicates he signed a two-year contract. This will all but officially close the book on Maeda's career in the major leagues. He pitched in nine MLB seasons, turning in a 4.20 earned run average while coming up a little shy of 1000 innings pitched.

Contreras is a former top pitching prospect who has spent parts of five seasons in the big leagues. He was a key part of the Pirates' return from the Yankees in the Jameson Taillon trade and found a bit of early success out of the Pittsburgh rotation. Things went off the rails in the 2023 season, though, and he has bounced around as a journeyman reliever over the past few seasons.