The Angels are shutting down Yusei Kikuchi for the next three to four weeks, manager Kurt Suzuki tells reporters (link via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). The two-time All-Star landed on the injured list over the weekend with shoulder inflammation.
Kikuchi departed last Wednesday’s start at Rate Field after two innings. The Halos sent him for imaging two days later. The team hasn’t provided many more specifics beyond noting that Kikuchi received a second opinion over the weekend before deciding to attempt to rehab without surgery.
It’s not a worst case scenario but also not an especially encouraging update. Kikuchi will be reevaluated towards the end of the month. If he’s still able to proceed with non-surgical rehab, he’ll likely spend the majority of June building back up. The full shutdown means Kikuchi will need multiple bullpen and live batting practice sessions before he’s ready to begin a minor league assignment.
This is the second season of Kikuchi’s three-year, $63MM free agent contract. He was a relative bright spot for the Halos last year, turning in a sub-4.00 ERA over a career-best 178 1/3 innings. He has struggled to a 5.81 mark over his first seven starts this year. Kikuchi’s strikeout and walk profile is largely unchanged. The ugly run prevention is driven mostly by a spike in the batting average on balls in play against him.
Kikuchi has made a fairly notable mechanical change. He has raised his arm angle to one of the more over-the-top deliveries among lefty pitchers. Kikuchi had thrown from a similar arm slot during his first couple MLB seasons with the Mariners but had dropped his arm angle over the past few years. This year’s change has coincided with an altered pitch mix, as Kikuchi has scaled back on his slider in favor of more fastballs and a newly-added splitter.
It’s impossible to say whether any of those contributed to the injury. Potential shoulder and elbow problems are an occupational hazard for pitchers. In any case, the Angels will be without Kikuchi for quite some time. They recalled Sam Aldegheri to start tonight against the White Sox in what would have been Kikuchi’s turn. George Klassen, Caden Dana, and long man Mitch Farris are other possibilities to step into the rotation. The Halos have a front four of José Soriano, Reid Detmers, Jack Kochanowicz and rookie Walbert Ureña. They enter play tonight with MLB’s worst record at 13-23.
