The Houston Astros have battled back from the depths they were in early this season and have climbed back up to the top of the AL West. Their biggest need has been starting pitching and they finally struck ahead of the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline as it is being reported that they have agreed to a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays where they receive right-handed starter Yusei Kikuchi in exchange for reliever Jake Bloss. This deal signifies a lot about the future of each team so let’s take a closer look into exactly what this means for the Houston Astros and the Toronto Blue Jays going forward.
What does this trade mean for the Houston Astros?
The Houston Astros have been needing starting pitching as they are without Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy and Luis Garcia for the remainder of the 2024 season while also having Justin Verlander dealing with a neck injury and still not able to return. The current starting rotation for the team has been dependent on Framber Valdez and four pitchers with less than 1.2 combined years of service time. Below is the current Houston Astros starting rotation:
- Framber Valdez
- Ronel Blanco
- Spencer Arrighetti
- Jake Bloss (traded in this deal)
- Hunter Brown
With the return of Verlander soon and now adding a veteran in Yusei Kikuchi, the starting rotation looks a lot more legitimate going into the stretch run with the Seattle Mariners, who have been aggressive by adding Randy Arozarena, Justin Turner, and reliever Yimi Garcia. Kikuchi has not been pitching too well as in 22 starts, he is 4-9 with a 4.75 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP in 115.2 innings of work. However, he has been pitching with a lot of command on his pitches with just 30 walks to 130 strikeouts, better than a 1:4 ratio this year. He is also familiar with the AL West, pitching the first three years of his MLB career in Seattle before signing as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays.
This is purely a rental for the Houston Astros as he is on the final season of a three-year, $30 million contract he signed prior to the 2022 season. This is a veteran arm but with only 1.2 career postseason innings, it is a bit of a risk. However, Houston certainly needed to bolster their roster with a starting pitcher as they are percentage points ahead of the Seattle Mariners for the AL West lead.
What does this trade mean for the Toronto Blue Jays?
The Toronto Blue Jays are shedding payroll this trade deadline and hoping to find some diamonds out of these deals. Jake Bloss was scheduled to start tonight’s game and was pulled prior to the game beginning, which signaled he was going to be traded somewhere. Bloss has six years of control remaining before becoming a free agent, so this is a long-term project for a 2023 third-round pick. So far in the majors, Bloss has struggled as he is 0-1 with a 6.94 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in 11.2 innings (three starts).
However, this continues to signal a youth movement as they have picked up outfielder RJ Schreck, outfielder Yohendrick Pinango, infielder Josh Rivera, outfielder Jonatan Clase and catcher Jacob Sharp ahead of the deadline prior to this deal with the Houston Astros. The Blue Jays continue to bolster their minor leagues as things continue to unfold and Toronto tries to get ready for the future. Will this be the final piece that they trade away ahead of 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday?
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