Fans were surprised to see Kikuchi trade at this year's deadline since some believed that the Blue Jays would re-sign him at the end of the season but they ended up moving him to Houston for a big haul.
The Blue Jays traded Yusei Kikuchi for 3 top prospects in Will Wagner, Jake Bloss and Joey Loperfido while Houston was only able to get 10 starts out of Kikuchi between the deadline and the end of the season.
Not only did the Astros give up a ton for Kikuchi but he has now signed with their divisional rivals in the Angels in which they will be facing him quite a bit over the next few years.
So, in summary, the Jays now have three top prospects that could play significant roles for the team going forward in exchange for 10 total starts made by Kikuchi with the Astros. To make matters worse for Houston, Kikuchi has now gone to their despised division rivals, the Angels, and will be facing them for the next three years. -Eng
The Blue Jays are the clear winners in this trade as they walked away with Bloss who was the Astros #3 prospect while also adding both Loperfido and Wagner who seem to be major league ready.
No. 3 prospect in the organization, pitcher Jake Bloss, despite struggling a bit playing for the Jays' Triple-A affiliate Buffalo to finish off the year, posted a solid 3.18 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, with 88 strikeouts in 93 1/3 innings pitched over 21 starts in his 2024 minor league season. -Eng