With the free agent market open for business, the Los Angeles Dodgers are competing with other teams for starting pitching.
Specifically, Houston Astros starter Yusei Kikuchi., according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
“He’s awfully popular, too, after shoving for Houston following a maligned trade from Toronto,” Passan wrote. “The Astros want him back, and other teams expected to operate in the midtier pitching market – the Cubs, Dodgers, Angels and, if they whiff on the bigger names, Blue Jays and Orioles – could compete for the 33-year-old’s services.”
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After being posted by the Seibu Lions, Kikuchi’s MLB career had been underwhelming until this past season. He was a standout pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball before making the jump to the majors in 2019.
Kikuchi signed with the Seattle Mariners, but his performance was largely mediocre. Although he earned an All-Star selection in 2021 thanks to a strong first half, he struggled in the second half, failing to maintain consistency.
However, the left-hander signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022. After spending two and a half seasons in Toronto, he was traded to the Houston Astros at the trade deadline. In Houston, Kikuchi made 10 starts, posting a 5-1 record with a 2.70 ERA over 60 innings. He struck out 76 batters while walking just 14.
The Astros seemed to spot something in Kikuchi that Seattle and Toronto didn’t. While Kikuchi always had an explosive fastball, his secondary pitches were easier for hitters to target. Houston made a key adjustment by telling Kikuchi to abandon his curveball and focus on his slider, which had previously been a distant third pitch.
The result? Kikuchi now uses his slider almost as often as his fastball, adding a new dynamic to his arsenal.
If Kikuchi joins the Dodgers, he would become the third Japanese-born pitcher in their rotation, joining Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani. Kikuchi is from Morioka, Japan, which is just an hour away from Ohtani’s hometown of Oshu, further connecting the two pitchers.
The Dodgers are also reportedly still chasing Roki Sasaki as a free agent signing.
Regardless of who the Dodgers add to the rotation this winter, the team still returns seven starting pitchers including Yamamoto, Ohtani, Landon Knack, Tyler Glasnow, Emmett Sheehan, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin.
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