Blue Jays deal SP Kikuchi to Astros for three-player package
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The Toronto Blue Jays have dealt veteran lefty starter Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros. Right hander Jake Bloss, infielder/outfielder Joey Loperfido, and infielder Will Wagner are headed back to Toronto.
Kikuchi, 33, pitched to a 4.75 earned-run average with 130 strikeouts in 115.2 innings pitched with Toronto this season.
Kikuchi was in the final year of a three-year, $36 million deal signed with the Blue Jays ahead of the 2022 season. He features a strong breaking pitch and an elite fastball that tops out at 98 mph, which is near the best for left-handed starting pitchers.
The veteran of six MLB seasons conceded earlier in June that the team's struggles this year have been difficult to deal with in the locker room.
“It’s probably a difficult time for all of us,” Kikuchi said through an interpreter, per MLB.com. “Not just the position players, but myself included. I’m going out there with mixed feelings."
“We came in with the mentality that we were aiming to get to the World Series and win the World Series.” Kikuchi said.
The Morioka, Japan native struggled in his first season with Toronto, where he was demoted to the bullpen midway through the campaign after making 20 starts.
He bounced back in a big way in 2023, posting career bests in ERA (3.86), innings pitched (167.2) and strikeouts (181), and continued his strong performance into this season.
In 156 career games played (144 starts) with the Seattle Mariners and Blue Jays, Kikuchi has a 4.72 ERA with 761 strikeouts in 749.2 innings pitched. He was an All-Star in 2021 with the Mariners.
Bloss is the No. 2 ranked prospect in the Astros system and carries a 6.94 ERA in three major league starts this season. The 23-yeear-old had a 1.64 ERA in 13 starts across three minor league levels this season. He was selected in the third round of the 2023 MLB Amateur Draft.
Loperido, 25, has appeared in 39 games with Houston this season, hitting .236 with two home runs and two steals in 118 plate appearances. In 39 games in Triple-A, the Astros No. 3 prospect his 13 home runs and stole nine bases with a .272 average. The lefty was named the Astros’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2023, as well as a Postseason All-Star in the Texas League. Loperfido has appeared in 290 career Minor League games across four levels, recording a slash line of .281/.377/.496 with 123 extra-base hits and 186 RBI.
Wagner, 26, the son of former Astro Billy Wagner, is slashing .307/.424/.429 across 324 plate appearances in Triple-A this season with five home runs, 41 RBI and 51 runs scored.