Angels’ Busy Off-Season Continues With Yusei Kikuchi Signing
The Los Angeles Angels have landed yet another player in free agency, signing free-agent left-hander Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year deal.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the signing, adding that Kikuchi’s deal is worth $63 million and has an average annual value of $21 million. It’s a significant raise from his previous contract of $36 million over three years ($12 million AAV).
Kikuchi, who’ll turn 34 next summer, split last season between the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros. He was traded to the Lone Star State mid-season, recording an impressive 2.70 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 10 starts, spanning 60 innings.
The veteran lefty’s redemption story has now come full circle.
His first year in Toronto was horrendous, as his command woes and 5.25 ERA as a starter ultimately forced him to the bullpen. But he enjoyed a tremendous bounce-back performance in 2023, earning a 3.86 ERA over 32 starts, worth 2.4 fWAR – a career-high at the time. And the good times continued into this past season.
With a four-pitch mix, headlined by a mid-to-upper 90s fastball, Kikuchi reached his full potential in ‘24, posting the best strikeout (28%) and walk rates (6%) of his six-year big-league career. He also surpassed his previous mark in fWAR with a 3.5 rating.
Preventing home runs has been one of Kikuchi’s biggest concerns over the years, next to his walk totals. But he took a considerable step forward a season ago, improving his HR/9 from 1.45 to 1.28 – the lowest of his career, excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
Now, after cashing in as a free agent, the hard-throwing southpaw joins a talent-deficient Angels rotation that ranked 28th in starter’s ERA (4.97), FIP (4.84) and fWAR (5.6) last season, behind only the Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins.
Kikuchi is currently projected to lead a starting staff, followed by fellow lefty Tyler Anderson, José Soriano, Reid Detmers and Kyle Hendricks – who also signed with Los Angeles this off-season.
Despite missing the playoffs in 10 straight seasons, the Angels have been this winter’s most aggressive spender thus far. Between Kikuchi, Hendricks ($2.5 million), Travis d’Arnaud ($12 million) and Kevin Newman ($2.75 million), they’ve already spent a combined $80.25 million in free agency.
General manager Perry Minasian also struck a deal with the Atlanta Braves for slugger Jorge Soler, who’s signed for two more seasons at $16 million per year.
Those moves have raised the organization’s projected Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) payroll to approximately $207.1 million for next season, according to FanGraphs’ Roster Resource. That puts them roughly $34 million below the initial $241 million luxury tax threshold.
It’s an interesting strategy for a franchise that’s largely been uncompetitive over the last decade. But those shortcomings haven’t stopped them from trying to make waves, albeit modest ones, while Mike Trout – signed through 2030 – remains on their roster.
For the Angels to become a serious threat in the AL West, though, further improvements to their starting rotation, bullpen, and offence will likely be required.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Moto “Club4Ag” Miwa. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.