Angels add former Blue Jays pitcher Kikuchi in busy off-season: reports
Traded to Astros last season, left-hander agrees to 3-year deal, AP source says
Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a three-year contract worth $63 million US, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because the deal, first reported by the New York Post, was subject to a successful physical.
The 33-year-old free agent gets $21 million annually during the contract, which raises his Major League Baseball earnings to $142 million over nine seasons.
An all-star with Seattle in 2021, Kikuchi was 9-10 with a 4.05 earned-run average in 32 starts this year for Toronto and Houston, which acquired him on July 30 for 23-year-old right-hander Jake Bloss, rookie outfielder Joey Loperfido and minor league first baseman Will Wagner.
Kikuchi was 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 starts with the Astros, striking out 76 and walking 14 in 60 innings. His four-seam fastball averaged 95.5 miles per hour this year, the highest of his major league career.
He is 41-47 with a 4.57 ERA in six seasons with Seattle (2019-21), Toronto (2022-24) and Houston.
Kikuchi signed with the Mariners ahead of the 2019 season when Seattle agreed to a contract that earned him $43 million over three years. The Mariners also paid a $10,275,000 posting fee to the Pacific League's Seibu Lions. He signed with Toronto in March 2022, agreeing to a $36 million, three-year contract.
The Angels have been the most aggressive team in baseball so far this off-season. Kikuchi joins a projected rotation that includes left-handers Tyler Anderson and Reid Detmers and right-handers Jose Soriano and Kyle Hendricks, who left the Chicago Cubs as a free agent and agreed to a one-year, $2.5-million contract.
Right-hander Griffin Canning was traded to the Atlanta Braves for outfielder and designated hitter Jorge Soler on Oct. 31. Los Angeles also reached a two-year deal worth $12 million with catcher Travis d'Arnaud.
The Angels went a franchise-worst 63-99, their ninth straight losing season and first since losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency to the Dodgers. They have not reached the playoffs since 2014.
