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Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer
Left-handed starter Yusei Kikuchi and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed on a three-year contract, the team announced Wednesday.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but sources confirmed to ESPN that the deal is worth $63 million.
Angels general manager Perry Minasian said Wednesday the team valued Kikuchi’s durability and strike-throwing consistency in their decision to make a hefty financial commitment to him.
“I believe we’re better,” Minasian said. “Biggest commitment I’ve made since I’ve been here, and I don’t take that likely, but I felt like we needed to add a rotation piece that could slot everybody down.”
Kikuchi, 33, had a great second half to his season last year after being traded from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Houston Astros, compiling a 2.70 ERA in 10 starts.
Overall, he had a 4.05 ERA in 2024, making 32 starts split between the two teams. He made 32 starts in 2023 as well while appearing in 32 games in 2022 and 29 games in 2021. That durability undoubtedly helped secure his current deal with the Angels.
The six-year veteran will be joining his fourth team after breaking into the big leagues with the Seattle Mariners in 2019. His best season came in 2023 when he went 11-6 with a 3.86 ERA for the Blue Jays, helping them make the postseason. His contributions to the Astros last season also helped them reach the postseason, something his new team hasn’t done since 2014.
Kikuchi’s signing adds to a busy offseason for the Angels who already inked another starter, Kyle Hendricks, to a free agent deal. The team also added catcher Travis d’Arnaud via free agency and traded for outfielder Jorge Soler. Los Angeles has been by far the most aggressive team in MLB so far this winter.
“We’re trying to get better, so with what we’ve done so far, we’ve been pretty aggressive,” Minasian said. “We’re going to continue to be aggressive. When you have the year we had, there’s definitely areas to get better. Really every area. We’ll look to attack all those areas and improve this club.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
