The Baltimore Orioles were eliminated by the Kansas City Royals in the American League Wild Card. The team could look to add to their rotation in free agency regardless of what happens with Corbin Burnes.
While making predictions for the top 50 free agents, MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams, Darragh McDonald and Tim Dierkes all predicted that the Orioles would sign Houston Astros starter Yusei Kikuchi in free agency.
“Just which version of Kikuchi a new team gets will be an open question,” wrote the staff. “Is he the at-times dominant lefty who can pile up strikeouts in droves and limit walks to the point that an ERA in the low-3.00s or upper-2.00s seems plausible? Or is he the same enigmatic, homer-prone southpaw he’s always been? Kikuchi’s individual skills have impressed for years now, but the sum of those parts has somehow been lesser than those individual components.”
Kikuchi started off the year playing out the final year of his three-year, $36 million deal for the Toronto Blue Jays. He struggled early but was traded to the Astros where he turned things around. He posted a 2.70 ERA in 60 innings of work across ten starts. The Astros went 9-1 in those starts.
MLB Trade Rumors predicted that he would sign a three-year, $60 million deal in free agency. Three of four writers predicted the Orioles to sign him, but one writer picked the Mets. The Orioles could lose Burnes in free agency. Kikuchi could fill a need in that case.
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