Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a $63 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
Pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and Los Angeles Angels agree to a $63 million, 3-year contract, AP source says
Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a $63 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
By RONALD BLUM
November 25, 2024 at 3:52PM
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 Kikuchi 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 ERA 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 mph this year, the highest of his big 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 offseason. Kikuchi joins a projected rotation that includes left-handers Tyler Anderson and Reid Detmers and right-handers José Soriano and Kyle Hendricks, who left the Chicago Cubs as a free agent and agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year 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 $12 million, two-year contract 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.
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RONALD BLUM
The Associated PressThe Southeastern Conference's losses were almost everyone else's gain in the College Football Playoff rankings, with SMU nudging its way into the top 12 and Indiana staying in the mix at No. 10 despite a lopsided loss of its own.