The Toronto Blue Jays could be a potential landing spot for Yusei Kikuchi
As mentioned previously, the Blue Jays have been linked to Kikuchi as a team of interest by Jon Heyman on Twitter.
It will be interesting to see how much the Blue Jays will chase Kikuchi after they have already rebuilt their rotation this offseason. Toronto lost Steven Matz and Robbie Ray but replaced them with Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios, spending $241 million to land those two pitchers and stabilize a rotation (including Hyun Jin Ryu and Alek Manoah) that could already be considered one of the best in the American League East, if not the entire AL.
The fifth starter is still a question mark for the Blue Jays, with Nate Pearson and Ross Stripling reportedly in the mix to round out the rotation. That’s where adding Kikuchi could make the Blue Jays a definite force with the rotation in what is expected to be a very tight AL East race.
And let’s not forget that the Blue Jays reportedly checked in on the availability of some Cincinnati Reds pitchers before the lockout went into effect as well.
Much like the Mets, the Blue Jays have already spent a considerable amount on pitching. Are the Blue Jays one of the teams that has already extended a three-year deal to Kikuchi in an effort to make one of their current strengths (the rotation) even stronger? That will be one of the most intriguing questions to be answered once the lockout ends.