The Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels might share geographical proximity, but the two Southern California teams are in very different places in their respective windows for contention.
The Dodgers are coming off their eighth World Series victory as a franchise. Armed with some of the best financial resources in the sport, and a talented nucleus of returning players, they might enter the 2025 season as favorites to repeat with a strong offseason.
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The Angels are nine years removed from their last winning season, 10 years removed from their most recent playoff berth, and 15 years removed from their last postseason victory. Their next World Series title will be their first since 2002.
Nonetheless, a new report suggests the two teams could be targeting the same left-handed pitcher in free agency this offseason.
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ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Tuesday that Yusei Kikuchi is “awfully popular after shoving for Houston following a maligned trade from Toronto.”
Kikuchi, 33, began the 2024 season by going 4-9 with a 4.75 ERA in 19 starts for the Blue Jays, who signed him to a three-year, $36 million contract prior to the 2022 season. The Astros were panned for sacrificing three young players — Will Wagner, Jake Bloss and Joey Loperfido — in a deadline-day trade for Kikuchi.
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All Kikuchi did in 10 starts after the trade was go 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA, helping the Astros emerge from a tight race with the Seattle Mariners to handily clinch the American League West.
“The Astros want him back,” Passan reported, “and other teams expected to operate in the mid-tier pitching market — the Cubs, Dodgers, Angels and, if they whiff on the bigger names, Blue Jays and Orioles — could compete for the 33-year-old’s services.”
HOUSTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 07: Yusei Kikuchi #16 of the Houston Astros prepares in the dugout prior to the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Minute Maid Park on September 07, 2024 in Houston, Texas…. HOUSTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 07: Yusei Kikuchi #16 of the Houston Astros prepares in the dugout prior to the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Minute Maid Park on September 07, 2024 in Houston, Texas. Kikuchi’s offseason market could reportedly involve the Dodgers and Angels.
Jack Gorman/Getty Images
The market will ultimately define what “mid-tier” looks like in terms of dollars and cents. But the implication is clear in terms of market positioning: the Dodgers, Angels and Cubs are unikely to pay top dollar for right-hander Corbin Burnes and left-hander Blake Snell, the two former Cy Young Award winners who comprise the top domestic starters in this year’s free agent class.
Kikuchi’s strong finish to the 2024 season leaves him as a coveted left-handed starter in a group that includes Sean Manaea and Max Fried. Passan also linked the Dodgers to Fried, a Southern California native.
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The wild card is Roki Sasaki. The 23-year-old ace recently announced he will be posted by his NPB team and sign with an MLB club this offseason. Because he is limited to signing a minor league contract within a team’s amateur signing bonus pool, Sasaki is affordable to all 30 teams.
Every team that can afford Kikuchi can afford Sasaki too, but the team that signs Sasaki might be less motivated to engage in a bidding war for another starting pitcher.
For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.
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