The Los Angeles Angels have been busy this offseason after a dreadful 2024 in their first year without Shohei Ohtani. They posted their worst record in franchise history at 63-99 and finished behind the Oakland Athletics for last place in the American League West.
So far, the Angels have signed four players to Major League deals in free agency with the biggest being Yusei Kikuchi’s three-year, $63 million contract. Kikuchi enjoyed a nice season in 2024 as he split his time between the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.
His addition fills a significant need for the Angels who had the third-worst ERA for a starting rotation last season.
Ohtani and Kikuchi are both alumni of Hanamaki Higashi High School and have a friendly relationship. With the two as friends, Ohtani hopes that his old locker with the Angels is given to Kikuchi, according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times during an episode of “The Dodgers Debate:”
“Ohtani said that he hopes Kikuchi inherits his locker.”
In 2024, Kikuchi had one of the better seasons of his career since coming over to MLB in 2019. He set a career high in innings pitched and strikeouts with 175.2 and 206 respectively.
He found increased success following his trade to the Astros, with a 2.70 ERA in 60 innings while also drastically decreasing batting average against and WHIP.
Overall, he finished with a 4.05 ERA, 3.46 FIP and 1.20 WHIP.
Yusei Kikuchi’s history facing Shohei Ohtani
Their time shared in the American League provided plenty of opportunities for the two high school alumni to battle it out.
Ohtani and Kikuchi faced off one time in 2024 and the end result was somewhat of a draw. Ohtani had one hit in three at-bats and one RBI, while Kikuchi struck him out once.
Historically, Ohtani has had the upper hand in this matchup. He is 7-23 with 3 homers and 5 RBI in 24 at-bats against Kikuchi in his career.
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