Yusei Kikuchi spent eight seasons with the Seibu Lions in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball from 2011-18. He was a three-time NPB All-Star and led the Pacific League in ERA and wins in 2017.

Kikuchi gives up three runs in the fifth, and the Angels drop their fourth straight after Nolan Schanuel lines out to left field, stranding the bases loaded in the ninth in a 4-2 loss.

The Angels signed veteran left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year contract on Monday. Read more about the deal at MLB Trade Rumors.

Yusei Kikuchi is exactly what the Angels need to be competitors, as long as they also sign three more starters and Juan Soto. And maybe that wouldn’t even be enough.

The 33-year-old Kikuchi was an All-Star in 2021 and made 32 starts in each of the past two seasons with a 105 ERA+, making him a slightly above-average pitcher. But he shined this season after a ...

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Yusei Kikuchi left the Los Angeles Dodgers game.

Kikuchi’s average four-seam velocity jumped from 92.6 mph to 95.1 mph in 2020, and he began using an effective cutter that wasn’t in his 2019 repertoire.

Kikuchi’s increased slider usage has, so far, not made the pitch more susceptible to damage. Opponents are 14-for-75 against it in his eight Astros starts for a .187 average.