Blue Jays manager on possibly trading Kikuchi and re-signing him in the off-season: ‘I think that the interest is mutual’
Photo credit: Gerry Angus-USA TODAY Sports
The Toronto Blue Jays officially started their trade deadline sale on Friday, as trusted reliever Yimi Garcia was moved to the Seattle Mariners for a pair of prospects.
Among the other players expected to go is left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who made what could be his final start as a Blue Jay against the Rangers on Friday. Now in the final season of the three-year, $36 million deal he signed with Toronto following the 2021 season, Kikuchi is set to reach free agency again this winter.
Kikuchi got off to a very strong start to the season but has been very inconsistent over the past couple of months. The lefty posted a 3.25 ERA over 11 starts in April and May and has struggled to a 6.42 ERA in 11 starts in June and July. Following a loss to the Houston Astros in early July, Kikuchi noted that the team’s status as a seller was difficult on him and other players.
“It’s a difficult time for all of us,” Kikuchi said through his interpreter, according to MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson. “Not just the position players, but myself included. I’m going out there with mixed feelings. You just don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s a difficult time right now.”
Kikuchi struck out a season-high 13 batters in his next outing against the San Francisco Giants but hasn’t gone further than five innings in any of his three outings since. Against the Rangers on Friday, Kikuchi went four-and-two-thirds innings and allowed five earned runs. Despite the result, the fans in Toronto gave the lefty a standing ovation as he left the mound.
“I gave up five runs today and the fans still gave me a standing ovation,” Kikuchi told Matheson through his interpreter. “It was a pretty cool moment. As I came into the dugout, Schneider, Pete [Walker, pitching coach], the other coaches and my teammates were saying thank you. In that moment, just thinking about the past three years, I got a little emotional.”
All told, Kikuchi has a 4-9 record this season with a 4.75 ERA. At a glance, it seems more like his ugly 2022 debut in Toronto than his excellent 2023 showing, but the lefty’s peripherals in 2024 suggest that he’s been effective and has dealt with some poor luck and defence behind him.
Ahead of Friday’s game, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith asked John Schneider if he’d be open to having Kikuchi return to the Blue Jays on a new contract in the off-season. The team’s manager replied: “Absolutely, I would love to have him. I think that the interest is mutual.”
The Blue Jays have starting pitchers Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios, and Yariel Rodriguez under control for the 2025 season but the best left-handed starter on their 40-man roster is oft-injured prospect Ricky Tiedemann. Signing a veteran lefty for the rotation would be a wise move for the Blue Jays this winter, and Kikuchi is a well-liked teammate who knows the team’s coaching staff.
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