TORONTO — As he began to reset for Jonah Heim after striking out Nathaniel Lowe in the fifth inning Friday night, Yusei Kikuchi picked up manager John Schneider walking to the mound, cocked his head to the right and then looked away in frustration.
It’s not just that things hadn’t gone his way, it’s that things hadn’t gone his way in what was, barring the unexpected, his final start for the Toronto Blue Jays. GM Ross Atkins told him as much during a conversation earlier in the week. Not helping is one batter earlier, he’d allowed a two-run homer to Adolis Garcia that put the Texas Rangers ahead in what finished as a 6-5 walk-off Blue Jays win on Ernie Clement’s single, and suddenly it was over, left to sit on a sour ending, his next outing to come with a team-to-be-determined.
The scouts from at least four contending clubs who were on hand to watch saw him not only get up to 98.2 m.p.h. with a fastball that sat 96.5, not only strikeout five in an uneven outing in which he allowed five runs over 4.2 innings, but also the way a knowing crowd of 35,065 celebrated him as he walked off the mound, the way he tipped his cap, the way his Blue Jays teammates embraced him as he walked through the dugout.
Kikuchi pushed through it all stern-faced, eyes down, absorbing what was, no doubt, not the Toronto ending he wanted. But really, who on the Blue Jays is getting one of those, this year?
“I gave up five runs but the fans still gave me a standing ovation, so it was a pretty cool moment,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “As I came into the dugout, Schneids and Pete (Walker), other coaches and teammates, they were saying like, a thank you kind of thing. In that moment, just thinking about the past three years, it got a little emotional.”
As for what time has meant to him?
“When I first signed here, the message was, we’re going to go out there and win the World Series. I wanted to be part of that,” said Kikuchi. “Obviously it’s disappointing not being able to get there with this group because it’s a really tight-knit group, from teammates to strength coaches, position players, the entire staff. It kind of sucks. But just got to move forward.”
A reminder of what looms for him came about 2 ½ hours before first pitch, when the Blue Jays traded Yimi Garcia to the Seattle Mariners for two prospects, outfielder Jonatan Clase and catcher Jacob Sharp. “I realized that the market’s picking up a little bit,” said Kikuchi, who quickly reeled himself in. “I had to focus on the start and on my pre-game routine.”
How quickly Kikuchi’s fate is determined isn’t clear, although discussions about the lefty were expected to intensify Saturday morning. The quicker the resolution, the more time he has to acclimate to his new team ahead of his next start, with Wednesday being his first day on turn.
Already the starting pitching market is moving, with the Baltimore Orioles adding Zach Eflin and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for three prospects, and the Boston Red Sox re-acquiring Canadian James Paxton from the Los Angeles Dodgers for a low-level prospect.
Neither offers up a great comp for Kikuchi, as the Eflin return includes a premium since the righty is under contract through the 2025 season, while Paxton had recently been designated for assignment and is more depth add than impact pick-up.
How teams view Kikuchi isn’t likely to be swayed much by his performance Friday — although the Blue Jays suffered a scare when Robbie Grossman’s comebacker glanced off Kikuchi’s right foot in the first inning — as he and Jack Flaherty of the Detroit Tigers are atop a relatively barren market of rental starters. Typically, teams do relatively well for that class of pitcher.
And just as it was for Garcia, the market is there, which Atkins made clear when they talked “a couple days ago.”
“Obviously he said there is a pretty high likelihood that I’ll get traded. With that in mind, I thought this could be my last game,” Kikuchi said. “He kind of brought it up asking if we wanted to have a chat. It was a good opportunity to clear things up, kind of like a reset for me, too, just with all the uncertainty and stuff. We had a good conversation, and he had some really nice words for me, too. I’m glad we had that conversation.”
Kikuchi certainly has the stuff to be a legitimate playoff starter but after posting a 3.26 ERA through his first 14 starts, he’s struggled through his last eight outings, with a 7.75 ERA in 38.1 innings over that span.
Still, he’s struck out 54 batters against just 11 walks in that time and the swoon corresponds to both the Blue Jays’ collapse and their bullpen coming completely undone.
“To me, those eight, there’s a couple that kind of skew it a little bit really,” said Schneider. “When I think of him and every fifth day when he pitches, he’s been pretty damn consistent.”
Without the uncertainty of a trade hanging over him and the emotion of parting from a team that helped him reach his potential in the big leagues, it’s reasonable to think that Kikuchi will quickly bounce back into form.
“Initially it’s a little bit weird and new for him, but he’s been great,” Schneider said of the way Kikuchi has handled being a deadline asset. “He had electric stuff today and realized how good his fastball was and I thought he pitched better than what his line was, really. It’s kind of a wall-scraper homer and seven singles that found holes against a really good team. I thought he did a really good job over the past couple of weeks of just corralling everything and focusing on what he had to do.”
All that is to come, leaving only the days of uncertainty before Tuesday’s deadline to bookend an eventful 2 ½ seasons with the Blue Jays, during which he struggled in the first year of a $36-million, three-year deal, finishing the season in the bullpen, recovered in the second season and looked set to take it even a step further this year.
But nothing went to plan for the Blue Jays this season and Kikuchi instead became their top deadline trade chip. His final outing was as notable for fellow rentals Justin Turner collecting two hits, Kevin Kiermaier’s electric catch robbing Wyatt Langford of extra bases in the third and Danny Jansen’s single and game-tying sacrifice fly in the seventh, as for Clement’s game-winning single.
“He goes out there and competes his tail off and when he’s not out there, he’s one of the best teammates we have,” said Clement. “However, this shakes out he’s been awesome and we love him. I’m just glad we could get a win while he was on the mound because he’s picked us up all year.”
His next and final contribution will be the talent his trade returns.
