Yankees: Will they target Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi?

The Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball has officially posted Yusei Kikuchi, a 27-year-old left-hander with a solid track-record but injury concerns. Sound familiar, Yankees fans?

By now, everyone and their mother knows that the Yankees will make pitching their No. 1 priority this offseason. However, outside of Patrick Corbin, it can be argued that there are no free agent hurlers worthy of anything more than a No. 3 spot in a rotation.

Should the Yanks decide trading for a bonafide ace in unfathomable due to certain clubs’ apparent desire for a massive haul of minor league prospects (Mets, Giants and Indians), general manager Brian Cashman will need to get creative in his pursuit of suitable arms.

That’s where 27-year-old left-hander Yusei Kikuchi becomes intriguing.

Kikuchi first garnered attention way back in 2009 as a 95-mph throwing high school senior, when he considered bypassing the NPB Draft as to become an MLB free agent (he would have been the first professional Japanese player to do so).

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Meetings with 10 major league teams, including the Yankees, eventually came to nothing, as Kikuchi decided to stay in Japan and was ultimately drafted by the Seibu Lions.

By signing with Seibu, Kikuchi was locked into nine years in the NPB. However, after making his professional debut for Seibu in 2011, Kikuchi has finally been granted his wish of pursuing his MLB dream.

For his career, Kikuchi, who stands 6-feet and 200-pounds, is 74-48 with a 2.81 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 8.0 SO/9 across 1035.1 innings.

Named a 2018 NPB All-Star, Kikuchi went 14-4 with a 3.08 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and a 153:45 K:BB ratio in 163.2 innings, despite missing time in May with a shoulder injury.

However, his most successful season came the year before, when Kikuchi’s high-90s fastball, swing-and-miss slider, curveball and changeup repertoire, propelled him to 16-6 with a 1.97 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 217:49 K:BB ratio across 187.2 innings.

Scouts have gone back and forth as to whether Kikuchi’s mechanics will need a tweak once he reaches the majors. Some view his ability to hide the ball as long as possible before its release as a bonus to the overall effectiveness of mixing his pitches. Others claim it’s directly related to the shoulder injury he sustained in ’18.

While Kikuchi won’t come to America with the same type of fan-fare as Masahiro Tanaka and more recently Shohei Ohtani, the injuries the pair have sustained immediately following their arrival, may keep many clubs away from bidding for Kikuchi’s services.

Should Kikuchi’s price tag stay reasonable, he’s able to limit the 32 home runs he’s allowed over the past two NPB seasons, and expectations of production fall more in-line with what fellow Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda was able to achieve — then perhaps he’s worth taking a flyer on.

After-all, Kuroda was a reliable mid-rotation piece that lasted seven major league seasons (three with the Yankees) while going 79-79 with a 3.45 ERA, 1.172 WHIP and 6.9 SO/9 across 1319 innings.