"Astros got fleeced badly": MLB fans disappointed as Houston's Yusei Kikuchi deal is fully revealed with Blue Jays acquiring 3 prospects 

On Monday, the Houston Astros completed a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays to bring in left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, which should provide some much-needed cover to their starting rotation. However, the Astros had to pay a huge price for the acquisition, offering the Blue Jays three of their top 20 prospects in Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner.

To no great surprise, the news has not sat well with Astros supporters, who believe they massively overpaid the Blue Jays for a rental player in Yusei Kikuchi.

The Astros have been perennial World Series contenders for the past decade, but the 2024 season is their most challenging one in recent times. Their dangerous lineup has been quite subdued offensively, while the starting rotation was almost utterly devasted by injuries even before the season began. As a result, the Astros (55-51) have failed to dominate the American League West this year as they generally do.

At the moment, Framber Valdez is the only frontline starting pitcher available to them; even Ronel Blanco and Hunter Brown have emerged as a couple of capable replacements. Justin Verlander was sidelined for two months and is expected to return within a couple of weeks. However, Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, and Lance McCullers Jr. are currently all on the 60-Day IL and may not play any part this year.

Therefore, the Astros front office desperately needed to add a veteran starting pitcher to their rotation so they could focus on securing their path to the postseason. Nevertheless, the decision to part with three prospects to acquire Yusei Kikuchi as a short-term rental has caused a big shock among the fans who expressed their dissatisfaction on X/Twitter:

On the other side of the trade, Blue Jays fans could scarcely believe what their team landed in exchange for Yusei Kikuchi:

"That's one hell of a haul," a Blue Jays fan posted.

"That’s an awesome return for the Blue Jays!" another fan exclaimed.

"I love Kikuchi, but that's a pretty good haul," another fan said.

Only time will tell which team secured the better end of the Yusei Kikuchi trade, but as of now, it seems as though the Astros offered a deal that the Blue Jays simply could not refuse.

Yusei Kikuchi's deal aids starting rotation for now but could haunt Astros in the future

Yusei Kikuchi will help the Houston Astros starting rotation (Image Credit: IMAGN)

By bringing in Kikuchi, the Houston Astros have strengthened their depleted starting rotation for the present. He had a good start to the season but currently has a 4.75 ERA and 1.340 WHIP. However, Kikuchi offers durability and has 115.2 innings under his belt this season while leading all of MLB with 22 starts. Meanwhile, his 10.2 strikeout rate will hold even greater value during the postseason.

However, by giving up three of their top 20 prospects, the Astros have severely hampered their farm system, which had already been depleted by big trade moves in previous seasons.

Who do you think got the better deal in the Yusei Kikuchi trade? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.