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Twins One Of Several Teams Pursuing Blue Jays Starter Yusei Kikuchi

Brock Beauchamp
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Brock Beauchamp GOAT

Brock Beauchamp

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Jon Morosi tweeted that several teams are in pursuit of Blue Jays starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi has struggled this year for the Jays, posting an 85 ERA+ after posting a stellar 111 ERA+ last season. Most of his peripherals indicate he's a similar pitcher to the one that was well above average in 2023; last year, he was quite fortunate in batted-ball outcomes while this year, the opposite is true. If relying on advanced metrics, he's probably closer to a league-average starter in both seasons.

Kikuchi is making $10 million this season, which means an acquiring team would be on the hook for about $4 million. Unfortunately, insiders are suggesting the Twins are unwilling to add payroll, which means they will need to go above and beyond other teams in prospect capital to bring Kikuchi to Minnesota.


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nicksaviking MVP

nicksaviking

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29 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Wow, the Astros paid a lot for a two-month rental who I don't think is all that good.

I liked Kikuchi better than most, but he's been getting tagged the last several starts. What's a comparable Twins package? Festa, Martin and Will Holland? Yeah, that's quite a bit for a rental.

SwainZag Cedar Rapids Kernels

SwainZag

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31 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Wow, the Astros paid a lot for a two-month rental who I don't think is all that good.

Kikuchi going for THAT much more than Fedde is pretty astounding.   Or just regular White Sox things. 

twinstalker First Round Pick

twinstalker

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55 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Turn to Cal Quantrill?

I'd want Quantrill far more than Kikuchi, but it's a seller's market.  If you're not going to re-sign CQ, then do you give up Festa?  You know that every team is going to go after Zebby and Morris, and I really don't trust Falvey.  What a sh**sh**.

USAFChief GOAT

USAFChief

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Just now, Brock Beauchamp said:

I don't care about the prospects, I care that Kikuchi isn't very good.

Yeah, but I think he'd be  one of the Twins 5 best starters for the remainder of 2024.

When you're 1.5 games from missing the postseason, I think it pays to upgrade, even at the bottom.

I doubt anyone in Houston regrets the prospects. 

 

 

Brock Beauchamp GOAT

Brock Beauchamp

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4 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Yeah, but I think he'd be  one of the Twins 5 best starters for the remainder of 2024.

When you're 1.5 games from missing the postseason, I think it pays to upgrade, even at the bottom.

I doubt anyone in Houston regrets the prospects. 

The first statement is where I stumble a bit. Is he *probably* better? Yes. But his ceiling is also quite limited. I'm torn between wanting the floor of Kikuchi versus the ceiling of Festa.

USAFChief GOAT

USAFChief

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Just now, Brock Beauchamp said:

The first statement is where I stumble a bit. Is he *probably* better? Yes. But his ceiling is also quite limited. I'm torn between wanting the floor of Kikuchi versus the ceiling of Festa.

I don't think Festa is anywhere near ready to hold down a rotation spot in a pennant chase, and Paddack is just bad.

And even that counts on zero injuries the rest of way.

I guess we'll see, as it's looking like the Twins are sitting this deadline out.

Be interesting to see what Kikuchi gives Houston. 

Brock Beauchamp GOAT

Brock Beauchamp

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2 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I don't think Festa is anywhere near ready to hold down a rotation spot in a pennant chase, and Paddack is just bad.

And even that counts on zero injuries the rest of way.

I guess we'll see, as it's looking like the Twins are sitting this deadline out.

Be interesting to see what Kikuchi gives Houston. 

It will be interesting to see how he does. And if the price of Kikuchi was lower, it'd be easier to jump into that deal. But if the cost of Kikuchi is literally David Festa, I'll stick with David Festa and the upside that goes along with it.

P Meyer College Ball

P Meyer

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On 7/30/2024 at 7:35 AM, Brock Beauchamp said:

The first statement is where I stumble a bit. Is he *probably* better? Yes. But his ceiling is also quite limited. I'm torn between wanting the floor of Kikuchi versus the ceiling of Festa.

I agree that the upgrade Kikuchi would provide is probably not worth the prospects and cash it would require. The Twins best hope for a title is having several cheap prospects all elevate at the same time, and then catching lightning in a bottle. 

nicksaviking MVP

nicksaviking

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On 7/30/2024 at 10:17 AM, Mike Sixel said:

Baseball America rates them the second and fifth prospects from Houston. Keith Law calls it a hefty price. I have no idea... Just passing this along. 

Pretty crazy. I'm sure Houston's thought is that guys with high strikeouts and low walks have a pretty good shot at having their numbers even out by the end of the year.

But even as much as I was previously interested in him, his last few starts would have had me only offering minimal prospects in return.

  • 1 month later...
DJL44 St Paul Saints

DJL44

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On 7/31/2024 at 12:27 PM, nicksaviking said:

But this is freakin' Houston. With the entire MLB community blasting this move, he'll probably end up being World Series MVP.

Astros are 8-0 in Yusei Kikuchi starts. It has worked well so far.

nicksaviking MVP

nicksaviking

Community Moderator
Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Astros are 8-0 in Yusei Kikuchi starts. It has worked well so far.

Yeah, his stuff was way better than his results with Toronto. Houston was ahead of the game once again.

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