Dodgers reach agreement with Japanese pitcher Kenta Maeda

The Los Angeles Dodgers weren't suddenly going to become a small-market team, they were just biding their time. A day after the team inked Scott Kazmir, Los Angeles has gone out and added another pitcher to their rotation. The team has reportedly reached an agreement with Japanese pitcher Kenta Maeda, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

After the team missed out on the elite options on the market, it was assumed the Dodgers would be major players for Maeda. The 27-year-old pitcher rated as the 21st best free-agent available according to our own Jeff Passan. He ranked just behind Kazmir, and just ahead of Brett Anderson on that list. All three players now pitch for Los Angeles.

Maeda is considered the best pitcher to come over from Japan since Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka, but few believe he has the same upside as those pitchers. At the very least, Maeda is expected to slot in as a mid-rotation starter in the majors. In eight seasons with the Hiroshima Carp, Maeda compiled a 2.39 ERA over 1509 2/3 innings.

Terms of the contract are not known at this time. Teams had to pay a $20 million posting fee in order to negotiate with Maeda, but his eventual contract is expected to be much higher.

With Maeda in tow, the Dodgers suddenly have some tough decisions to make in the rotation. Clayton Kershaw, Maeda and Kazmir should be locks, but the club will also have Brett Anderson, Alex Wood and Hyun-Jin Ryu competing for the final two spots. On top of that, Brandon McCarthy is expected to return from Tommy John surgery at some point, which could complicate things later in the year.

That's quite the change from 48 hours ago, when the team was set to go with Kershaw/Anderson as their 1-2 punch. In a short span, the Dodgers have suddenly turned a questionable spot on the club into a strength.

Questions still remain, of course. Both Ryu and McCarthy are coming off injuries, and Anderson and Kazmir don't have the greatest track record in that area. Even Maeda is far from a sure thing, as there are questions about whether his numbers will translate in the majors.

Still, the move greatly improves Los Angeles. The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants may have dominated the National League West news cycle earlier in the offseason, but the Dodgers are making their presence felt now.