Houston Astros Starter ‘Could Land’ Similar Deal in Free Agency

The Houston Astros left-hander will be an interesting name to follow on the open market.

Sep 19, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (16) pitches against the Los Angeles Angels in the fifth inning at Minute Maid Park. / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have multiple free agency decisions to make this offseason. Alex Bregman will be the biggest, but left-hander Yusei Kikuchi could be one that gets intriguing.

When the Astros traded for Kikuchi, they moved a massive package of three of the better prospects in their farm system. 

The Japan native has been lights out during his short stint with the club and has been a big part of the success they've found since the All-Star break.

If it weren't for his nine impressive starts and, most importantly, giving them innings, perhaps they wouldn't be in the same position they're currently in.

There are reasons to keep him, mostly because they need pitching and the package they moved for him. If the plan was to only keep him for the last three months, it'd be one that might go down as a disappointment.

However, if Houston were to win a World Series, losing him wouldn't hurt as much. Still, after making that deal, the idea should've been to keep him around.

How much money can the 33-year-old expect to get? There's no debating how good he's been with the Astros, but it's also fair to say that this is the best he's pitched for much of his career outside of 2023 when he posted a 3.86 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.

Career-wise, he's posted a 4.60 ERA and 1.35 WHIP.

In his first nine starts with Houston, he owns a 3.00 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.

On Friday, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report named him the No. 22 free agent on the market. Reuter also wrote that his current three-year, $36 million contract could be similar to what he lands in the offseason.

"Kikuchi has gone 5-0 with a 3.19 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 59 strikeouts in 48 innings over nine starts since joining the Astros at the trade deadline, and Houston paid a steep price to acquire him as a two-month rental. He inked a three-year, $36 million contract with the Blue Jays last time he hit the open market, and even at his age he could land a similar deal this time around."

$36 million for Kikuchi's services would be more than fair, even if he regresses to what he's been throughout most of his career.

Even more important, he's thrown in at least 157.0 innings in four of his six seasons. In one of those six, it was the COVID year, so that could've been another campaign he did as such.

The Astros, unless they can find a clear replacement, should think about keeping him around.