Kenta Maeda proved to be Dodgers’ marathon man last season

Kenta Maeda had finished his answer when he decided to offer one more thought. His interpreter listened, both men laughed, and then the last few words were translated into English.

“You never know when you die too, right?” Maeda said.

There might have been no greater oddity on the 2016 Dodgers than this: On a team that put more players on the disabled list than any in major league history, Maeda was not one of them.

The man with the supposedly shredded arm led the Dodgers in games started and innings pitched last season. Only four men in the National League West pitched more innings: Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija of the San Francisco Giants, and Chad Bettis of the Colorado Rockies.

Maeda pitched 175 2/3 innings last season, his first in the major leagues. He had pitched at least that many in each of his seven full seasons in Japan, and not all in the best of health. He did not know that until the physical examination he took for major league clubs revealed what he and the Dodgers said were unspecified “irregularities” in the arm.

“I was surprised,” Maeda said. “That’s not what I felt inside.”

The Dodgers signed him to a contract that would protect them if his arm blew up but compensate him as a first-rate starter if it did not. He cashed in 15 incentive bonuses last season — based on making the opening roster, games started and innings pitched — turning his $3 million guarantee into a $12 million salary.

You never know, right?

“Some guys with no injury or no iffy things about their medical history, they get hurt, too,” Maeda said. “Even with guys who do have them, they don’t get hurt.”

He said the Dodgers have not ordered him to do extra activities to strengthen his shoulder and elbow. The velocity on his slider dropped almost two mph from April to October last season — troubling because Maeda throws the slider more than any pitch except the fastball — but Maeda said he is not concerned.

“I have the ability to throw faster and slower sliders,” he said.

Wild card: Ryu

The Dodgers are cautiously optimistic that Hyun-Jin Ryu might be able to contribute this season. Ryu threw a two-inning simulated game Saturday, displaying sharp command.

His fastball velocity ranged from 85-88 mph. He averaged 90-91 mph in his first two years with the Dodgers, then missed all but one game over the past two years because of shoulder and elbow surgery.

Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said Ryu has been able to maintain the lower velocity range as he comes back and could add to it as he builds arm strength.

The Dodgers have a surplus of starters. They might not have a spot for Ryu in their rotation when the season starts. They don’t need 200 innings from Ryu, and they wouldn’t push him that far anyway.

“If he was able to give you 140 to 150, in that range, that would be a huge step for him,” Honeycutt said. “I think he’s capable of doing that. The key is, he’s healthy.”

Seager slowed

For the fourth time in in five days, shortstop Corey Seager did not play.

Seager had tightness in his upper back, Manager Dave Roberts said. Seager, the defending National League rookie of the year, had sat out three games because of a bruised shin.

The Dodgers do not consider the injury serious and, in any case, Opening Day remains a month away. Seager sat out 27 of the Dodgers’ 35 spring games last season — he had a sprained knee — but sat out just five of the 162 games in the regular season.

bill.shaikin@latimes.com

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