Popular ex-Blue Jays pitcher finds new home with MLB's most active team

The Major League Baseball hot stove has been slow to heat up this offseason, and we're still two weeks away from the MLB Winter Meetings. One team, however, that isn't waiting around and has been the most active already in the few weeks since the World Series just signed a popular former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher.

Yusei Kikuchi has signed a three-year contract with the busy Los Angeles Angels

Free agent Yusei Kikuchi has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Angels, according to Jon Heyman. The contract, per Heyman, is a three-year, $63M agreement that will keep Kikuchi on the West Coast through the 2027 season. Currently 33, he'll be 36 years old when the deal expires.

The left-hander originally signed a three-year, $36M with the Blue Jays ahead of the 2022 season after three seasons in Seattle. He got off to a rough start as a Blue Jay, posting a 6-7 record with a 5.19 ERA in his first year in Toronto. He straightened things out in 2023 with an 11-6 record and a 3.86 ERA in 32 starts.

After a rollercoaster first four months of the 2024 season, Kikuchi was traded to the Houston Astros at the deadline when it became apparent the Blue Jays were nowhere close to contending for a postseason berth.

He had a 4.75 ERA in 22 starts for the Jays before joining the playoff race with the Astros. He turned things around in the Lone Star state, pitching to a 5-1 record with a 2.70 ERA and sparkling 0.93 WHIP in 10 outings. He even somehow appeared on an AL Cy Young Award ballot.

Over 86 games (74 starts) for the Blue Jays, Kikuchi finished with a 21-22 record and a 4.48 ERA. He made one postseason appearance with Toronto, in 2023 against the Minnesota Twins, in which he allowed one run on three hits and a walk over 1 2/3 innings in the ill-fated José Berrios game.

Before this move to ink Kikuchi, the Angels had already signed right-hander Kyle Hendricks, catcher Travis d'Arnaud and infielder Kevin Newman in addition to trading for Jorge Soler from the Atlanta Braves.

With the Angels, Kikuchi will headline a rotation featuring José Soriano, Tyler Anderson, Hendricks and Reid Detmers, at this time anyway. Last year, in their first post-Shohei Ohtani season, the Angels finished last in the AL West with a 63-99 record, 23 games out of a Wild Card spot.

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