Perry Minaisian continues to be aggressive and this week he got to work early. Boras Mouthpiece Jon Heyman was the first to report the deal.
The Japanese lefty will take home a reported $63 million over the course of three years and adds tantalizing upside and a history of uneven results. Kikuchi was simply dominant after being traded to Houston last year and was solid and sometimes spectacular with Toronto in the year and half prior to the trade.
A quick look at his baseballsavant page shows he has elite swing and miss stuff. The Angels are hoping that elite stuff delivers elite results.
There’s certainly some risk with this signing but among the second tier free agent pitchers Kikuchi likely offers the most upside as well.
The risk is evident in his career ERA+ of 91. He’s also coming off consecutive years of establishing new highs for innings pitched and he’ll turn 34 in June.
The upside shows in his peripherals. He’s struck out over a batter per inning for two years running, his walk rate is well below average, and his four seam fastball is a plus pitch.
As of today, the rotation likely looks like Kikuchi, Jose Soriano, Tyler Anderson, Kyle Hendricks, Jack Kochanowicz with Reid Detmers, Caden Dana, George Klassen, and Davis Daniel as depth in AAA.
