After MLB lockout, 3 potential landing spots for Yusei Kikuchi
By Kevin Henry
Yusei Kikuchi enters the 2022 season as a mystery with plenty of potential in the minds of many clubs. That’s why it’s not only hard to assess his value in the open market, but also which teams may be willing to take a chance on the 30-year-old left-handed starting pitcher.
Last season with the Seattle Mariners was a tale of two campaigns for Kikuchi. He started the season strong, posting a 6-4 mark with a 3.48 ERA before the All-Star break, with opponents slashing just .205/.276/.370 in 16 starts covering 98.1 innings. With the performance, he earned his first All-Star Game nod.
However, after the All-Star break, Kikuchi looked like a completely different pitcher. The opponent slash line jumped to .300/.381/.525 and the ERA expanded to 5.98 in 13 starts over 58.2 innings.
Why the jump? Sources say that Kikuchi was fatigued and that he knew the Mariners were not going to exercise his four-year, $66 million club option. Therefore, his focus on the present drifted more into what was to come rather than his current time with the Mariners.
The first half of last season was one of the few runs in a Seattle uniform over the course of three seasons where Kikuchi flashed the form that he showed during his time in Japan’s NPB where he posted a 2.77 ERA in 158 games (108 starts) covering more than 1,000 innings.
After declining a $13 million player option from Mariners for the 2022 season, it seems that his time in Seattle is over. So where will he land in 2022?