Japanese pitcher Yusei Kikuchi has found his third major league team as a career high contract. He will throw the game with the Los Angeles Angels starting next year.
MLB.com said on the 26th (Korea time), "The Angels are dominating as the most aggressive club this offseason. We have agreed to a contract with left-hander FA Yusei Kikuchi," and reported, "The amount amounts to 63 million dollars for three years (about 88.2 billion won), the largest amount for the club since 2020 when Perry Minasian took office."메이저사이트
The Angels signed Kyle Hendricks for $2.5 million a year on the 8th, and then signed with Kikuchi to upgrade their rotation. Kikuchi plays the role of ace. The Angels, who lost 63 wins and 99 losses last year, have been the biggest task this offseason, strengthening the starting lineup, which has been pointed out as the biggest weakness for years.
With this, the Angels have completed a five-man rotation leading to Kikuchi after Tyler Anderson, Jose Soriano, Jack Kohanovic and Hendrix. Reed Ditmouth, Chase Siles, Kayden Dana and Sam Aldegeri are supported here.
Kikuchi pitched in 32 games for the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros this year and pitched 175 ⅔ innings, recording 9-10 losses, 4.05 ERA, 206 strikeouts, and WHIP 1.20. In particular, after being traded to Houston at the end of July, he drew attention by recording 5-1 losses, 2.70 ERA, 76 strikeouts, and WHIP 0.93 in 60 innings in 10 games. It was thanks to his ace-like pitching in 10 games in the second half of the year that he hit the FA jackpot this time.
MLB.com 's analysis is that this is due to increased slider to 38.9%, reduced four-seam fastballs to 35.6%, and increased efficiency of the two pitches.
Kikuchi, who is 33 years old this year, joined the Seattle Mariners in 2019 and pitched three seasons before signing a three-year, $36 million FA contract in 2022 and moving to Toronto. He, who played a full-time rotation until 2022 but was unable to escape the ERA of 4-5 points, showed his temper by throwing 167 ⅔ innings that exceeded the prescribed innings for the first time in 32 games in 2023, posting 11-6 losses and a 3.86 ERA.
And he stood tall as the top starting pitcher with an annual salary of more than $20 million in the second half of this season, showing a career high.
MLB.com commented, "Kikuchi is the first Japanese pitcher since Shohei Ohtani left in December last year. A wide range of Japanese fans who have secured over the past six years with Ohtani still support the Angels."