For the third consecutive season, the Los Angeles Angels have a new Opening Day starter. Marquee free agent signing Yusei Kikuchi has been named the starter for March 27th’s opener against the Chicago White Sox. The Angels inked Kikuchi to a three-year, $63 million contract this summer, making this an expected decision.
Kikuchi leads a rotation that is figured to be improved from 2024, also including Jose Soriano, Kyle Hendricks, Tyler Anderson and a yet to be determined fifth starter with Reid Detmers, Jack Kochanowicz and Chase Silseth in the main mix.
Kikuchi, 33, is coming off of an incredible back-end stretch with the Houston Astros in 2024, and earns his first-ever Opening Day starter nod because of it. He spoke about the Angels’ decision, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“I’m very happy and honored,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “I’m hoping we get off to a great start, starting with Game 1.”
Angels manager Ron Washington said the decision to make Kikuchi the Opening Day starter was not only easy, it didn’t even need to be announced within the team.
“I didn’t tell him, it’s just obvious,” Washington said. “We just signed him to a big contract. We didn’t bring him here to be a four or a five. We didn’t bring him here to be three or a two. We brought him here to lead our staff. That’s the obvious part.”
The Angels went into the offseason with a mission to land some sort of frontline starter. Losing Shohei Ohtani to the L.A. Dodgers — followed by a down, and then injured, season for Patrick Sandoval — left the Halos reeling. Anderson, Detmers, Soriano and Kochanowicz did not fit the bill for various reasons.
Kikuchi is by no means an ace in Major League Baseball. But he has a 3.96 ERA over 343.1 innings pitched over his last two seasons and is by all standards an above average starter. In most rotations, he probably would be a No. 3. But the Angels simply needed a reliable arm fronting their staff.
Angels projected pitching staff
There are still some decisions to be made over Spring Training, but here is a projection of the full Angels pitching staff based on where things stand on Feb. 21.
Rotation
1. LHP Yusei Kikuchi
2. RHP Jose Soriano
3. LHP Tyler Anderson
4. RHP Kyle Hendricks
5. LHP Reid Detmers
Bullpen
CL: RHP Kenley Jansen
SU: RHP Ben Joyce
SU: LHP Brock Burke
MR: RHP Ryan Zeferjahn
MR: LHP Jose Quijada
MR: LHP Jose Suarez
MR: RHP Hans Crouse
LR: RHP Chase Silseth
Minor Leaguers
RHP Jack Kochanowicz
RHP Caden Dana
LHP Sam Aldegheri
RHP Sam Bachman
RHP Victor Mederos
