Kikuchi ready to win and make history as Astros' 1st Japanese pitcher

HOUSTON -- Three days after trading for Yusei Kikuchi, the Astros formally introduced what manager Joe Espada called the “one piece we were missing” at a press conference on Wednesday.

In a deal with the Blue Jays, Houston acquired Kikuchi in exchange for young players -- right-hander Jake Bloss (No. 9 prospect), infielder Will Wagner (No. 13 prospect) and outfielder Joey Loperfido.

"We see Kikuchi as a young guy who can really strike guys out,” said general manager Dana Brown on Monday night. "We see him as a guy who can really log some innings for us and we see him as a guy who can pitch in the postseason with the power that he brings. He throws from 93 to 98 [mph]. This addition for us, we feel like this could be pretty good.”

Kikuchi acknowledged that his 2024 season for the Blue Jays hasn’t gone as well as he would’ve liked it to, but he’s hopeful that a fresh start with the Astros will begin a turnaround.

“Mechanics-wise, there's no issues,” Kikuchi said through an interpreter. “I’m pretty confident that it was just the pressure of the situation. Sometimes being in tight games, you don’t want to give up that next run. I ended up just throwing it over the plate a little bit, but yeah, hopefully with the Astros, I can make that adjustment.”

The 2021 All-Star selection ended his final season at Toronto with a 4-9 record, a 4.75 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. His ERA ballooned to 7.34 in his final seven games for the Blue Jays, and he was last credited with a win on June 11 in a 3-0 victory at Milwaukee.

“Over the last two months, I felt like my stuff [was] leaking over the middle a little bit, so I want to make that adjustment,” Kikuchi said. “I’m looking forward to having a chance to sit down with the coaches and see how I can improve.”

Despite the high ERA, Kikuchi struck out 130 batters in 115 2/3 innings, while only allowing 30 walks. He will make his Astros debut on Friday at Minute Maid Park to open the series against the Rays.

When Kikuchi starts, he’ll officially be the first Japanese starting pitcher in Astros history.

“Even though there’s not that many Japanese players here, historically, the Astros are still pretty popular in Japan just because it’s a winning organization,” he said. “The team’s always in the playoffs. They always have the playoff games on TV in Japan, so hopefully we win here and we make a long playoff run that Japanese fans can see overseas.”

Manager Joe Espada also echoed Kikuchi’s drive.

“He wants to win, that’s the first thing he said,” Espada said about his initial conversation with Kikuchi. “He said he’s excited [about] going to a team that plays in October, [that] knows the side of winning in October. And I told him you’re here to help us get to October.”

Espada also spoke highly of reliever Caleb Ferguson, who the Astros acquired right before the Trade Deadline from the Yankees. The veteran lefty has a 5.13 ERA on the year, striking out 41 batters and allowing 16 walks in 33 1/3 innings pitched. Ferguson will be available in the Astros' bullpen in the series finale against the Pirates.

“We’ve liked the arm, we’ve liked the arm for years,” Espada said on Tuesday. “It can be really good against lefties and righties.”

Ferguson faced the Astros in their season-opening series, pitching 2 1/3 innings across two games. He struck out Yordan Alvarez and Jeremy Pe?a, while issuing walks to Yainer Diaz and Kyle Tucker.

“A lot of winning goes on here,” Ferguson said before Wednesday’s game. “I’m excited. There’s definitely worse landing spots, but a team that’s in contention every year is a good spot to go.”