The trade-deadline acquisitions of left-handers Yusei Kikuchi and Caleb Ferguson resulted in a resetting of the Houston pitching staff, with the Astros jettisoning two right-handers — Rafael Montero and Seth Martinez — in advance of a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
The Astros had an off day on Thursday in advance of a three-game home series against the Tampa Bay Rays starting on Friday. Their revamped bullpen will include Ferguson, acquired from the New York Yankees at the trade deadline, and will be absent both Martinez, who was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land, and Montero, who was designated for assignment in the second year of a three-year, $34.5 million contract he signed before last season.
Montero served in a high-leverage role for the 2022 World Series champions. He was far less effective since inking his new deal, going 4-5 with a 4.94 ERA over his last 109 appearances.
“He realized he was struggling, and he was frustrated,” said Astros general manager Dana Brown. “We’re really trying to lock down our bullpen, and so we felt like this would really help our bullpen. Our guys have been grinding through the whole year, so we wanted to bring in some reinforcements.”
Kikuchi (4-9, 4.75 ERA) will make his Astros debut on Friday. He was acquired for three players in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, for whom he recorded 130 strikeouts over 115 2/3 innings. His ratio of 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings is the second-best mark of his career, following the 11.1 strikeouts per nine he recorded with Toronto in 2022. Kikuchi was 2-4 with a 3.25 ERA and .666 OPS over his first 11 starts but went 2-5 with a 6.42 ERA and .838 OPS over his final 11 starts with the Blue Jays.
Kikuchi is 5-2 with a 3.72 ERA over 10 career appearances (nine starts) against the Rays. He faced the Rays in his season debut on March 30 and allowed three runs on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings in a 5-1 loss.
Right-hander Shane Baz (0-1, 3.66) will start the series opener for the Rays.
He did not factor into the decision of a 3-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on July 26 after allowing two runs on two hits and two walks with a season-best seven strikeouts over a season-high-tying six innings. It was his fourth career quality start and second this season.
He also logged six innings against the Texas Rangers on July 5 in his season debut after missing the 2023 season following Tommy John surgery.
Baz was born in Houston and attended high school in Tomball, a northwest suburb. He will make his first career start against the Astros.
The Rays received an instant impact from Christopher Morel, who homered for a second consecutive game in the Rays’ 6-2 home loss to the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. Morel was acquired from the Chicago Cubs alongside Ty Johnson and Hunter Bigge at the trade deadline in exchange for All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes.
Morel flashed ample power in his two-plus seasons with the Cubs and carried a .228/.303/.439 slash line with 60 homers and 168 RBIs over 323 games to Tampa Bay. In short order, he has provided the type of slugging that should prove beneficial for the Rays moving forward.
“You can see how talented he is, how athletic he is,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Two homers in two days; you’re not going to do much better than that.”
–Field Level Media
