The Angels are set to get Yusei Kikuchi back in the rotation today, with the left-hander coming off the 60-day injured list to start against the Rangers. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported the move, and the Angels will need to open up space on both the active roster and the 40-man roster to make it happen, since those spots are full.
Kikuchi’s return gives Anaheim a veteran arm back after a long absence. The 35-year-old signed a three-year, $63MM guarantee with the Angels heading into the 2025 season and rewarded them early, logging 178 1/3 innings with a 3.99 ERA last year while leading Angels starters with 174 strikeouts. FanGraphs credited him with 2.5 wins above replacement in 2025, part of an 8.7 fWAR stretch over 2023-25 that was quietly steady even if the strikeout totals were more ordinary than in some earlier seasons.
This year, though, the lefty barely got going before the injury hit. Kikuchi lasted just two innings against the White Sox on April 29th and was working with lower velocity than normal.
A few days later, the Angels put him on the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation, then shut him down from throwing for 3-4 weeks. He avoided surgery and eventually moved to the 60-day IL later that month to clear roster space.
Before the injury, Kikuchi had made seven starts and posted a 5.81 ERA across 31 innings. That number looked rough, but the underlying picture was less alarming.
Opponents were batting .352 on balls in play against him, far above the league average of .289 and his career .308 BABIP. Even with the inflated results, his 23.2% strikeout rate, 9.9% walk rate, and 95.4 mph four-seam velocity all pointed to a pitcher who was still largely the same guy he’d been in 2025.
The Angels are hoping the long layoff doesn’t slow him too much, because they can use him. Their starters sit in the middle of the pack by fWAR in 2026, and the staff’s 4.31 ERA ranks 17th in the majors.
Reid Detmers has broken out, José Soriano was doing the same before he went to the Blue Jays at the trade deadline, and Walbert Ureña has given them a solid mid-rotation option. But Grayson Rodriguez, Jack Kochanowicz, and Ryan Johnson have all carried ERAs of 5.00 or higher, with Rodriguez missing significant time because of right shoulder and lower back inflammation and Kochanowicz now out until mid-2027 after Tommy John surgery in June.
If Kikuchi can pitch better than the 5.81 ERA he carried before the injury, he could work his way into the No. 2 spot behind Detmers. He remains under contract through 2027 on a $21MM salary, so the Angels are also counting on him as a veteran piece for next year’s rotation. Fletcher noted that George Klassen had been next in line for a start, but he’ll throw a bullpen session today while Kikuchi takes the ball.
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