TORONTO — A handful starts, perhaps as many as four or five, remain for Yusei Kikuchi in a season that has been a more of a disappointment than expected for all parties involved. And that may still be a positive-leaning outlook considering the amount of money that was given to the 28-year-old left-hander and the presumption of his prosperity in this Mariners’ reset and rebuild that now appears to be years to fruition.
There was and should’ve been an anticipation of struggles in his first season of Major League Baseball. The transition featured a dramatically increased level of competition while adjusting to a dissimilar baseball culture and adapting to life in a new country.