Yusei Kikuchi vs. Marco Estrada, 2:30am again, gah. ESPNgoi
The M’s and A’s both went out to the free agent market and picked up new starters this offseason. The stepping-back M’s got Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who figures to be a co-leader of the rotation with Marco Gonzales, and could be the de facto #1 before too long. The A’s, a team coming off a 97 win season and with a wide open playoff picture in front of them…picked up Marco Estrada for 1 year and $4m. He’s coming off a year that every single way we evaluate pitchers, from DRA at the most complicated to runs-allowed-per-9 at the simplest agree was an unmitigated disaster.