Kenta Maeda Joins Rakuten Eagles; Returns from American MLB to Japanese Pro Baseball for First Time Since 2015

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:12 JST, December 16, 2025

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Kenta Maeda, 37, who has now signed with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, held a press conference at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi in Sendai on Tuesday. His contract is for two years and he will wear the number 18.

At the press conference, he expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “Above all, I want to demonstrate good pitching and become the kind of pitcher that people want to come to the stadium to watch.”

Maeda, who is returning to Japanese professional baseball since 2015, also said: “I’m really looking forward to getting to play in Japan again after so long. That feeling of excitement is number one for me right now.”

He revealed that the team had offered to let him wear the number 18, which he also wore when he belonged to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, and that he was “delighted” to get to do it again. However, many fans will associate that number with pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, who previously wore it for the Golden Eagles, he also admitted, “I did consider whether I should wear it or not.”

Maeda has accumulated 165 wins over an 18-year career that has spanned Japan and the United States. Setting his sights on 200 wins as his next goal, he said, emphatically, “It’s quite difficult to set numerical targets at my age, but having a particular figure motivates me and gives me something to strive toward.”