MLB Trade Rumors: Astros Acquire Yusei Kikuchi from Blue Jays for Jake Bloss

The Houston Astros are reportedly adding a starting pitcher to their rotation.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Astros are acquiring left-handed start pitcher Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal first reported that the Astros were "close to acquiring" starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Rosenthal also reported that the Blue Jays are expected to land rookie starter Jake Bloss in return. SportsNet's Ben Nicholson-Smith added that Toronto will get left fielder Joey Loperfido and infielder Will Wagner.

Loperfido made his debut this season and has two homers, 16 RBI and a .236 batting average. Wagner was listed as the No. 13 prospect in the Astros system, per MLB.com.

Bloss, a third-round pick in the 2023 MLB draft who made his debut in June, has struggled through his first three starts with a 6.94 ERA and 1.63 WHIP across 11.2 innings pitched. He was slated to start for Houston on Monday but was scratched shortly before the start of the game.

The Blue Jays bringing in a young arm comes as they sit at the bottom of the AL East at 49-57 on the year. While Bloss has pitched just three times thus far, Toronto saw something that intrigued it enough to give him away for a veteran pitcher.

FanGraphs gives the Blue Jays just a 1.0 percent chance to make the postseason, so making moves that will help them build for the future seems like the right move.

Kikuchi, in his sixth major league season, hasn't had the best start with a 4.75 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 4-9 record through 22 starts, but perhaps being on a new team will give him a boost. He's coming off the best season of his career that saw him notch a career-high 3.86 ERA while recording an 11-6 record.

The addition of Kikuchi comes as the Astros rotation has been depleted by injuries. Justin Verlander has missed more than a month with a neck issue, while both Cristian Javier and José Urquidy are out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Luis Garcia is also still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Even with the rotation injuries, Houston has surged this summer and sits at the top of the AL West at 55-50. Now adding some depth to the rotation, the Astros will look to make a deep postseason run.