Yusei Kikuchi Trade Rumors: Red Sox could be best option to target veteran Blue Jays pitcherÂ
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi is a name that has increasingly been talked about as the MLB's trade deadline inches closer. It seems evident that Toronto will be sellers at the deadline and could look to move on from the lefty.
There are plenty of teams looking for starting pitchers for the second half, including the Boston Red Sox. According to ESPN's David Schoenfield, Kikuchi could be a perfect fit.
Boston has come out and surprised many after not doing much over the offseason. They hold a 47-39 record, putting them 7.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles.
The Red Sox are too good to punt on the season, but they may not catch Baltimore with the way the O's have been playing. They cannot afford to go all-in during the trade deadline with this much uncertainty.
That is why Kikuchi makes sense here. He would not cost the team much in terms of prospects and would help as Kutter Crawford and Tanner Huock are nearing career highs in innings.
Who else might be interested in Blue Jays' LHP Yusei Kikuchi?
Kikuchi will be a free agent following the end of the 2024 season. This makes him a likely candidate to be moved ahead of MLB's trade deadline.
While he would not be the most exciting pitcher on the market, he could be a big help to some teams looking for starting pitching help. Luckily for him, quite a few teams are looking for arms.
One team that is expected to look and add another starting pitcher is the San Diego Padres. While Dylan Cease and Michael King have been solid, Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish are both dealing with right elbow inflammation.