Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda said Saturday he is delighted to have a chance to face two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who will sign with the nearby Los Angeles Angels.

"I don't know what the game will be like, but I'm looking forward to pitching against him or facing him as a batter," Maeda said during an event in Hiroshima.

The Angels, who play in Anaheim, just south of Los Angeles, announced Friday they will sign the Japanese slugging ace pitcher from the Nippon Ham Fighters through the posting system.

The National League's Dodgers have six interleague games scheduled in July at home and away against the Angels, for whom the 23-year-old Ohtani will be playing. Ohtani has been referred to in America as the "Japanese Babe Ruth."

When asked if he would like to face Ohtani as a batter or a pitcher, the 29-year-old Maeda said, "Either way."

"But we won't both be in Los Angeles, so I don't think we'll have many opportunities to meet each other," he added.