LAKELAND, Fla. -- Kenta Maeda was flying from Los Angeles to Tampa for the start of spring training a couple of weeks ago when he heard someone attempting to speak heavily accented Japanese in the seat behind him. It turned out to be his former Minnesota Twins teammate, Max Kepler, trying out a Japanese phrase he had picked up. “He said, ‘Do your job!’ in this weird Japanese,” Maeda recalled with a laugh, speaking Japanese in an interview aided by interpreter Daichi Sekizaki. They chatted and expected to cross paths in the Grapefruit League. “We said, ‘Let’s catch up at spring training,’ but I never expected to actually face him in my first outing,” Maeda said. Maeda, fighting for a rotation spot with the Detroit Tigers, struck out four batters in two perfect innings of work in the spring opener Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies. One of his victims was Kepler, who signed with the Phillies this winter. It was an impressive start to a critical spring for the 36-year-old veteran who came to the major leagues from Japan nearly a decade ago. Maeda signed a two-year, $24 million deal with the Tigers before the 2024 season and began the year in the starting rotation. But he was bounced to the bullpen in July after months of inconsistency. This winter, he overhauled his usual training routine , starting earlier and working harder than he had in years. He came to camp with eight bullpens already under his belt and his velocity and pitch shapes already in regular-season form. It’s also altered his mindset. Maeda, 36, is not trying to ease into the season. He’s trying to win a job. “Normally, my first outing is fun, and I can go in relaxed, but this time, for some reason, even though it was just my first outing, I felt some pressure,” Maeda said. Perhaps that’s not a bad thing. Maeda threw 30 pitches, 21 for strikes. He used his entire repertoire -- six pitches -- and threw his signature splitter nine times. He allowed no hard contact and got six whiffs. “Since the offseason, I’ve been working on adjustments -- whether it’s my mechanics or various other aspects -- so that I wouldn’t repeat the mistakes I made last year,” Maeda said. “From the start of camp, I’ve focused on making changes, and I felt like I was able to bring those adjustments into today’s game. I was really able to pitch with the same good rhythm and feel that I have when I’m at my best.” Maeda’s fastball averaged 92.4 mph, well above where it was at this time last spring and even higher than his career regular-season norms . “If my four-seam fastball has good velocity, then my splitter and slider also work effectively,” Maeda said. “But if my four-seam doesn’t look like a fastball to the hitter, then my pitches lose their effectiveness. If my four-seam isn’t a quality pitch, then even my breaking balls won’t be as tough for hitters to deal with. Today, I felt like I was able to throw in a way that made my breaking pitches look like fastballs at the moment of release, which helped me get outs.” It’s too early to draw firm conclusions about roster battles, but the signs are clear for Maeda. The team challenged him to come to camp ready. He did. He promised to compete this spring. He has. Five weeks remain, and nothing is guaranteed, but if Maeda keeps pitching like this, he’ll earn his spot in the rotation. Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Reese Olson already have secure starting jobs. Maeda, rookie Jackson Jobe, Casey Mize, Keider Montero, Matt Manning, Ty Madden and Brant Hurter are among those competing for the final two spots. Manning had a rough outing in relief of Maeda, walking four of the 11 batters he faced. Mize will start Sunday in Tampa against the New York Yankees. Montero is slated to pitch Monday in Lakeland against the Toronto Blue Jays.
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