Who was likely to trade, made a fresh start in Houston, not the Dodgers

Columnist Jim Bowden, a former major league general manager, reported Kikuchi's transfer to Houston on his SNS on the 30th (Korea Standard Time).

Kikuchi, who is 4-9 with a 4.75 ERA in 22 appearances as of the 30th, will end his three-year contract with Toronto after this season.

According to the Major League's official website "MLB.com ", Toronto general manager Ross Atkins recently met with Kikuchi and informed him in advance, "It is very likely to be traded." What you know through the media and what the club gives you in advance are different from the player's point of view.

"We had good conversations when everything was uncertain, and it was a good opportunity for me to organize things. It was nice to have such conversations," Kikuchi said in expressing gratitude to his team for their consideration. There was a possibility that Kikuchi could move to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he ended up wearing the Houston Astros.

Meanwhile, Kikuchi, who has 73 wins and 46 losses (2.77 ERA) in his career as the ace of the Seibu Lions in Japanese professional baseball, made his big league debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2019. He played 32 games in his first year, leaving 6 wins and 11 losses with a 5.46 ERA, and went 2-4 in nine games (5.17 ERA) in 2020, and 7-9 in 29 games (4.41 ERA) in 2021.

After moving to Toronto in 2022, Ryu took the mound 32 times in his first year and recorded 6-7 record with a 5.19 ERA. He had his best season since his Major League debut last year. He achieved his first double-digit win since his debut, and posted 11-6 record with a 3.86 ERA. He set his personal record with 181 strikeouts.


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