Yusei Kikuchi Lands $63 Million, Los Angeles Market In Free Agent Deal With Angels

If you’re Yusei Kikuchi, you’ve gotta feel good here.

When we entered into Major League Baseball’s offseason, it was expected that either the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Yankees would be the most active franchise in free agency, but it’s actually been the other team in the Los Angeles market: the Angels.

Perry Minasian, the general manager of the team, has been adding piece after piece since the hot stove began. The Angels are currently experiencing the worst playoff drought in all of MLB, dating back ten years ago to 2014, and they’re being aggressive in an attempt to change that. Well, they’ve added another fish, this time starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. (RELATED: MLB Is Looking To Bring Robots Into The Game, And It’s One Of Those Great Ideas Where You Don’t Fear An AI Takeover)

Kikuchi becomes an Angel on a three-year, $63 million contract, according to MLB.com sources. A one-time All-Star, Kikuchi started the 2024 campaign with the Toronto Blue Jays, eventually getting traded to the Houston Astros at the deadline.

Overall, Kikuchi tallied a stat sheet of a 9-10 record and 4.05 ERA in the 2024 season, but when he went to Houston, he absolutely shined with a 5-1 record and 2.70 ERA.

Angels, LHP Yusei Kikuchi reportedly agree to 3-year deal, per @MLBNetwork insider @JonHeyman. pic.twitter.com/ZooMF2EYoX

— MLB (@MLB) November 25, 2024

Yusei Kikuchi better be grateful he was shipped to Houston, because his performance in the H-Town is the only reason why he landed this contract. And I have a feeling this is gonna be one of those situations where he dips a town just to dip in the numbers. We see that all the time in baseball.

But I guess we’ll see.