Houston Astros Left-Hander Predicted To Depart in Offseason

The Houston Astros would be wise to keep their starter after moving a haul for him at the deadline.

Sep 23, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (16) walks on the field before the game against the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

It's uncertain what the Houston Astros plan to do with left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. After sending a massive haul to the Toronto Blue Jays for him at the trade deadline, the logical thing would be to bring him back on a new contract.

However, when they made that move, they understood the risk of losing him in the winter for nothing. 

It was a terrible trade at the moment, and while Kikuchi pitched well during his time with the Astros, it's still tough to justify the move because they didn't win a World Series and were knocked out in the Wild Card Round. 

Nobody would've said anything about it if they played better in the postseason and won a World Series. However, Dana Brown has taken some heat for the trade because they didn't. 

Brown's recent comments also didn't sound promising for the veteran. Brown seemed excited about where his rotation will be moving forward, adding that they have "a lot of guys coming back."

"Yusei had a really good run with us and as I said before we aren’t taking any options off the table to improve this club," Brown said. "We knew how special he was with us when he pitched here and how receptive he was, but the fact that we do have a lot of those guys coming back, our rotation is going to be pretty stacked." 

It's tough to justify those comments, as they saw multiple times throughout the year why they need as much pitching as possible with all the injuries they dealt with. 

However, due to those comments, Mark Powell of FanSided doesn't believe he'll return this winter.

"The Astros took a lot of heat after trading a prospect haul to Toronto for Yusei Kikuchi, but the former Blue Jay was arguably their best pitcher down the stretch. Kikuchi was 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA for the Astros after being acquired. He is also a free agent this winter, and likely already has one foot out the door, as much as Houston fans would prefer he return."

The final decision on bringing back the Japan native will likely come down to how much money he'll get in a new contract. Some believe he could be in the $50 million mark for three years, which would be a fair price for a guy who posted a 2.70 ERA in 10 starts for Houston.

However, it's also important they understand that he hasn't been that type of arm for much of his career, owning a career ERA of 4.57.