On Monday night, the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros agreed on a trade that sent Yusei Kikuchi to Houston. In return, the Blue Jays received three players. The Astros sent Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido, and Will Wagner to Toronto.

The Market

The Astros were reportedly in on Tarik Skubal, among others, but decided his price was too high. This meant that they needed to pivot. This pivot lead to Houston paying a hefty price for Kikuchi. As a starting pitcher, his price is steep compared to many other names available on the market.

So far, it has been a relatively busy trade deadline with many deals being announced over the last few days and weeks. Not many of these trades were labeled overpays.

Yusei Kikuchi

Kikuchi is a 33 year old on the last year of his contract. He has pitched well for parts of his career but has really struggled as of late. Over his past eight starts, he is 0-4 with a 7.75 ERA. He does strikeout a lot of batters, but it remains to be seen if the price was worth it.

The Return

Right handed pitcher Jake Bloss was scheduled to start for the Astros on Monday before being scratched. This was the first indication that there was a deal potentially in place and that he was part of it. Bloss is the Astros’ number nine prospect.

They also sent their 13th ranked prospect in infielder Will Wagner. Wagner is the son of Astros’ legend Billy Wagner and has been hitting over .300 in Triple-A.

Lastly, outfielder Joey Loperfido was a top prospect before debuting earlier this year. He had been crushing it at Triple-A and has played well at the major league level, too.

Fallout

Starting pitching always comes at a steep price. The Astros found that out on Monday. When the deadline comes around, teams need to decide if they are buyers or sellers and how aggressive they will be. The Astros looked to be sellers for the first part of the season but after a strong couple of months, they are turning their sights to the postseason.

The Astros trade for Yusei Kikuchi shows their aggressiveness and willingness to make a move to address a need. Paying the price that they paid is a risky move. If Kikuchi pitches well, especially in the postseason, the fans and media will be more forgiving. As for right now, this trade looks very one-sided and will potentially be looked at as a fleece if Kikuchi doesn’t excel the rest of this season.

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Read up on the other trade deadline deals here!

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