Houston Astros Universally Questioned After Decision to Trade For Former Mariners Lefty
On Monday night, the Houston Astros acquired former Seattle Mariners left-hander Yusei Kikuchi in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Astros made the move for Kikuchi in an effort to piece enough pitching together to try to hold off the Mariners in the American League West race. Houston has been decimated by injury and Kikuchi will certainly help the pitching staff.
As necessary as Kikuchi was for the Astros rotation, Houston was universally questioned once the return back to Toronto was known.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Astros sent back RHP Jake Bloss, 1B/OF Joey Loperfido and IF Will Wagner.
Big, big return for the Blue Jays from the Astros, per sources: For Yusei Kikuchi, they'll receive RHP Jake Bloss, 1B/OF Joey Loperfido and IF Will Wagner, the son of former Houston great Billy Wagner.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2024
According to Baseball America, the Jays got three Top 30 prospects for Kikuchi, who is a free agent at the end of this year. Not only is he a free agent, he's a guy with an ERA of 7.34 over his last seven outings.
The @BlueJays landed three Top 30 Prospects for Yusei Kikuchi.
RHP Jake Bloss (Astros No. 2)
1B/OF Joey Loperfido (No. 5)
2B/3B Will Wagner (No. 19)
Our trade breakdown
The @BlueJays landed three Top 30 Prospects for Yusei Kikuchi.
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) July 30, 2024
RHP Jake Bloss (Astros No. 2)
1B/OF Joey Loperfido (No. 5)
2B/3B Will Wagner (No. 19)
Our trade breakdown ⤵️https://t.co/HNBuHbLWjm
As for what people are saying about the deal:
Keegan Matheson of MLB.com:
The #BlueJays nailed the Yusei Kikuchi deal.
I thought they did well when it looked like Kikuchi for Jake Bloss, period. With Loperfido and Wagner included, too, this is miles beyond what I expected them to find for Kikuchi.
The #BlueJays nailed the Yusei Kikuchi deal.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) July 30, 2024
I thought they did well when it looked like Kikuchi for Jake Bloss, period. With Loperfido and Wagner included, too, this is miles beyond what I expected them to find for Kikuchi.
Jeff Paternostro of Baseball Prospectus simply said "Excuse me."
Excuse me https://t.co/QaPTPtSe6b
— Jeffrey Paternostro (@jeffpaternostro) July 30, 2024
Joe Doyle of "Over Slot" simply said "Wow."
— Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) July 30, 2024
Though Kikuchi is just 4-9 on the year, he has struck out 130 batters in 115.2 innings. He was seen as one of the top rental arms on the market.
In his sixth year in the majors with the Mariners and Blue Jays, Kikuchi is 36-46 lifetime with a 4.72 ERA. He's been somewhat of an enigma since coming over from Japan in 2019. He has flashed great ability, making the All-Star Game with Seattle in 2021, but has also shown to be inconsistent. What's still true is that he possesses the ability to miss bats, which is very valuable in today's game.
The Mariners will see the Astros for one more series this year and will hope that one of their former pitchers isn't a driving force behind keeping them out of the playoffs. The two teams enter play on Tuesday in a virtual tie for first place in the division.
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