HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Astros made a key acquisition just before the MLB trade deadline, bringing in 33-year-old left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays. The trade, reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, involved the Astros sending pitcher Jake Bloss, outfielder/first baseman Joey Loperfido, and minor-league infielder Will Wagner—the son of former Astros star Billy Wagner—to the Blue Jays.
The Astros have yet to officially confirm the trade.
Passan’s report followed the Astros’ last-minute decision to pull Bloss from his scheduled start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, instead starting relief pitcher Tayler Scott. The Astros, facing injuries to key starting pitchers Justin Verlander, Cristian Javier, and Jose Urquidy (the latter two out for the season), needed to bolster their rotation. The move also comes as their AL West rivals, the Seattle Mariners, strengthened their lineup by acquiring Randy Arozorena and Justin Turner.
Kikuchi, who has played five seasons in MLB and has 13 years of professional baseball experience, began his career in Japan. He made his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2019, signing a four-year contract and earning an All-Star spot in 2021. Kikuchi joined the Blue Jays in 2022 on a three-year, $36 million deal. He recently faced the Astros on July 3, where he struck out five batters but gave up two runs, including a solo home run to Yordan Alvarez.
In an interesting tidbit, the Blue Jays play an audio cue from Lisa Loeb’s 1994 hit “Stay” whenever Kikuchi strikes out a batter, highlighting the “You say” line. Kikuchi also mentioned in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he tries to sleep 13 to 14 hours the night before a start, joking that his teammates wonder how he manages to sleep so much.
