Astros near deal with Blue Jays to add Yusei Kikuchi to beleaguered rotation: Sources

By Ken Rosenthal, Kaitlyn McGrath and Chandler Rome

HOUSTON — The Astros supplemented their injury-ravaged starting rotation with one of the best rental starters available on the trade market.

Houston is acquiring left-hander Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays, league sources told The Athletic on Monday evening, providing the team stability in an area without any to speak of.

The Blue Jays’ exact return is unknown, but it is expected to include touted pitching prospect Jake Bloss, who was scratched from his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. It is also expected to include two more prospects, according to a league source.

Kikuchi is ranked No. 33 overall — and No. 7 amongst starting pitchers — on The Athletic’s Top 50 Trade Deadline Big Board. He is in the final year of a three-year, $36 million pact he signed with the Blue Jays ahead of the 2022 season. He will be owed the remainder of his $10 million salary before becoming a free agent at season’s end, momentarily putting the Astros over the second luxury tax threshold.

Kikuchi, 33, has had an up-and-down tenure with the Blue Jays, going as far as to lose his spot in the rotation in 2022. However, he’s blossomed into a steady starter, having started a league-leading 22 games this season.

While he does have a 4.75 ERA entering play on Monday, his 10.1 K/9 ranked top 10 in the American League. A 3.64 FIP and .344 batting average on balls in play suggests some misfortune is to blame for his bloated ERA.

Kikuchi isn’t a front-line starter, nor is he expected to be one as an Astro. He’s thrown at least 155 innings in two of the past three seasons, delivering a volume of innings few in Houston’s current rotation have ever thrown.

Two of the team’s most consistent starters, Ronel Blanco and Hunter Brown, are on pace to shatter their career-high in innings pitched. Both general manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada have wanted to deploy a six-man rotation to give them a breather, but with six starters on the injured list, there aren’t enough bodies available to accomplish that.

Enter Kikuchi, who immediately slots into a mid-rotation role behind Blanco, Brown and Framber Valdez. That Kikuchi has previous experience coming out of the bullpen could allow him to pitch in meaningful games down the stretch once Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia return from the injured list.

This story will be updated.

(Top photo of Yusei Kikuchi: Norm Hall / Getty Images)