Houston Astros GM Speaks Out on Shocking Trade Price for Yusei Kikuchi

Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown spoke out about the huge price he paid to trade for Yusei Kikuchi.

Aug 1, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown speaks with media before the game against the Cleveland Guardians at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros pulled off a major trade on Monday, acquiring starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays.

While Kikuchi will fill a major void and will hopefully be a big piece that drives a run to the postseason, the Astros had to pay dearly to get him. In fact, some believe it was one of the biggest trade overpays in recent MLB history.

In order to acquire Kikuchi, Houston had to give up right-hander Jake Bloss, outfielder Joey Loperfido, and infielder Will Wagner. Both Bloss and Loperfido are already MLB ready and Wagner has a very bright future ahead of him as well.

Many fans are not happy with the amount that Brown paid to acquire Kikuchi.

In response to the price that he had to pay, Brown opened up and talked about the deal. The Astros discussed other trades for starting pitchers, but those deals were apparently more expensive.

"We were having a lot of discussions about most of those guys at the top of our board. The price tag of those guys were even higher and more painful."

Astros GM Dana Brown: "We were having a lot of discussions about most of those guys at the top of our board. The price tag of those guys were even higher and more painful."

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 30, 2024

Throughout the course of the 2024 MLB season so far, Kikuchi has started in 22 games. He has compiled a 4-9 record to go along with a 4.75 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP, a 4.3 K/BB ratio, and 115.2 innings pitched.

Those numbers simply aren't good enough to warrant the cost of acquiring him. All fans can do at this point is to hope that Kikuchi can pitch at a much higher level for the rest of the season than he has so far.

At 33 years old, Kikuchi is also in the final year of his deal. To spend that much on a half-season rental makes it an even worse overpay.

All of that being said, this trade is either going to go down as a massive loss for Houston or a deal that looked like an overpay and ended up being a pleasant surprise. A middle of the pack second half of the season would still go down as a massive loss.

In order to live up to what the Astros paid for, Kikuchi will need to be a dominant starter each and every outing. That doesn't seem likely, but no one should ever say never.