Pitcher Yusei Kikuchi is now a former Blue Jay.
The move comes as an expected end for Kikuchi and his time in Toronto and he now becomes the first Japanese player to pitch for the Astros in club history.
In return, the Blue Jays are getting right-hander Jake Bloss, outfielder Joey Loperfido and prospect Will Wagner, the son of former Mets closer Billy Wagner, according to ESPN.
Yusei Kikuchi was traded from the Blue Jays to the Astros on Monday. John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY SportsKikuchi is in the final year of a three-year, $36 million contract that he originally signed with the Blue Jays back in 2022 and said to reporters on Friday that he was told by Jays general manager Ross Atkins that “there is a pretty high likelihood that I’ll get traded.”
He owned a 4.75 ERA going into Monday’s game against the Orioles and is striking out 10.1 batters per nine innings, which is in the top 10 in the American League.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said before the trade that Kikuchi had been handling the uncertainty “good.”
“It’s pretty evident that he likes it here and his wife likes it here and things like that,” Schneider said, according to Sportsnet. “It’s the first time he’s in this spot, understanding that it’s part of the business. He’s had ample time to kind of digest it a little bit, which is unfortunate, but I would say he’s in a good place.”
It was the second trade that the Blue Jays conducted on Monday, with the ballclub also sending Justin Turner to Seattle in a deal earlier in the day.
Yusei Kikuchi trust into the middle of a playoff race after being traded from the Blue Jays to the Astros. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConTurner had been taken out of Monday afternoon’s game between the Blue Jays and Orioles in the bottom of the second inning.
The trade comes as the Astros sit in a tie with the Mariners for first in the AL West and the Blue Jays are last in the American League East.
