The Angels are getting a major arm back at just the right time.
Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi will return from the 60-day injured list and start Sunday’s game against the Texas Rangers, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Kikuchi had been sidelined with left shoulder inflammation after his April 29 start against the Chicago White Sox.
For Los Angeles, the timing matters. Kikuchi is one of the club’s top starters, and his return gives the rotation a boost as the season moves deeper into the summer. The Angels signed the 35-year-old to a three-year, $60 million deal before the 2025 season, betting on a veteran who has been a steady presence at the top of a staff.
Kikuchi’s 2024 season showed why the Angels were willing to make that commitment. He finished with a 3.99 ERA and averaged nearly nine strikeouts per nine innings, though he also gave up an American League-high 180 hits in 178.1 innings.
There’s also reason to think the results before the injury may not have told the whole story. Opposing hitters were batting .352 on balls in play against Kikuchi, well above the MLB average of .289, which suggests he may have been running into some bad luck.
The Angels are not in the postseason hunt, but Kikuchi’s return could still matter. He gives the team a better chance to be competitive down the stretch and a little more capable of playing spoiler in the final weeks of the regular season.
In Other News...
Logan OHoppes First Rangers Comments Say Plenty About This Fresh Start
Logan OHoppes first day in a Rangers uniform brought the kind of small but meaningful reset that often comes with a deadline trade. Texas acquired the catcher from the Angels, along with reliever Chase Silseth, in exchange for infield prospect Angel Arredondo, and OHoppe wasted no time getting into the action. He made his debut against his former club and went 1-for-2 at the plate in a win, a tidy little reminder that a change of scenery can arrive with both a new jersey and a new opportunity.
OHoppes comments after the game said plenty about why the move mattered to him. He described his four years in Los Angeles as difficult and made it clear he is looking at Texas as a fresh start, the kind of chance players often talk about but rarely get in such a clean form. For the Rangers, it is another layer of catching depth and a player who already has reasons to be motivated every time he steps in against the Angels or anyone else wearing a target on their back. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers May Need A Bold Sebastian Walcott Decision Very Soon
Sebastian Walcott is back in the mix at Double-A Frisco after recovering from a right elbow UCL internal brace procedure, and the Rangers are already weighing how quickly they want to push one of their top prospects. For now he is working as a designated hitter, but the larger picture is obvious: Texas is in a tight playoff race and looking for any offensive spark it can find, even if that means accelerating the timeline on a player who has barely resumed game action.
The wrinkle is roster construction. Walcott is not on the Rangers 40-man roster, which makes any big-league move more complicated at a time when every decision carries extra weight. General manager Ross Fenstermaker has sounded optimistic that Walcott will get back on the field before the season ends, and how the club handles that next step could say plenty about how aggressively it wants to chase help down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Shakeup Just Raised The Stakes For The Rangers Down Stretch
The Rangers push down the stretch got a little more complicated with Houstons front office suddenly in flux. The Astros and general manager Dana Brown have mutually agreed to part ways, and owner Jim Crane is stepping in to oversee baseball operations as the club tries to steady itself after a disappointing season and a year without a playoff berth.
For Texas, the timing matters because a division rival with that kind of urgency can become more unpredictable in the final weeks. Browns duties will be spread among assistant general managers Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey and Connor Huff, along with senior advisor Jeff Bagwell, leaving Houston to sort out its direction while the standings are still in motion. The bigger question for the Rangers is how much a changing Astros decision-making structure alters the race before the season is over. [Read more 🡒]