Yusei Kikuchi is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. Kikuchi was born on June 17, 1991. (MLB).
In the past, he has been a member of the Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners and the Saitama Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
In 2009, Kikuchi’s fastball was timed at 154 kilometres per hour when he was pitching for his high school team. When it was revealed that Kikuchi was contemplating joining the NPB instead of going through the amateur draft in Japan, it generated a firestorm of debate.
There were a number of organizations have expressed interest in signing Kikuchi, including the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox.
Kikuchi would have been the first Japanese high school athlete to come directly to the major leagues without going through the local amateur draft.
In order to level the playing field for Japanese teams, the NPB requested that Kikuchi not receive an offer from any major league clubs before Japan’s draft.
By choosing to remain, athletes commit themselves to the organization for a total of nine seasons before becoming eligible for free agency.
They are only allowed to depart if their current Japanese team grants them permission to participate in a posting system where Major League Baseball teams may compete for the opportunity to negotiate with them.
Yusei Kikuchi Contract
According to several sources, the organization and the free agent left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi have reached an agreement on a deal that will pay him $36 million over the course of three years.
Salary
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, he will receive $16 million in 2022, followed by $10 million in each of the years 2023 and 2024.
Net Worth
Yusei Kikuchi net worth is estimated at around $10 million.