Yusei Kikuchi will make his Astros debut on Friday. Ultimately, even if he isn’t better than a middle-of-the-rotation kind of arm, he still bolsters a starting staff ravaged by injuries. Concerning the prospects traded to the Blue Jays, however, it seems nearly universal that the Astros overpaid for Kikuchi’s services. I agree with that opinion as I thought Jake Bloss for Kikuchi was appropriate enough, although I still had reservations with that hypothetical one-for-one swap. But I think the market conditions also dictated the situation and Dana Brown really felt the need to sweeten the deal for Toronto.
Instead, I want to concentrate on the Astros’ recent decision-making, or what I can tell from the outside looking in.