ANAHEIM — The Angels hope a month of rest is the prescription left-handed starter Yusei Kikuchi needs in order to return from a left shoulder injury.
Four days after he underwent an MRI, the Angels on Tuesday offered something of a recovery timetable for their 2025 All-Star. Kikuchi left a road start against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday after throwing one warmup pitch before the third inning.
“He’s not going to throw for three or four weeks and then we’ll build him back up after that,” Manager Kurt Suzuki said. “So, he’s going to rehab it. (After) three or four weeks, we’ll see where we are.”
Kikuchi has been nowhere near the form he showed last season, his first with the Angels, when he was 7-11 with a 3.99 ERA and was tied for the American League lead with 33 starts. His 180 hits allowed were the lowest among qualified starters in the AL.
Kikuchi opened this season by pitching the team’s second game, March 27 in Houston. He gave up two runs on eight hits in an eventual Angels victory but did not earn the win after needing 86 pitches to go 4⅓ innings.
He struggled over his next three outings, giving up a combined 13 runs, while going 0-2. After holding the San Diego Padres scoreless over six innings in an April 18 start, Kikuchi acknowledged that he returned to his delivery mechanics from 2025 after experimenting with the arm slot on his delivery in previous outings.
But he followed that outing by giving up five runs over five innings in a loss to the Kansas City Royals before his two scoreless innings against the White Sox last week.
“I think, obviously, we’ll know more after his rehab, but the initial plan is definitely encouraging,” Suzuki said. “You never obviously want anybody in surgery, especially in Yusei’s case, so hopefully, we can build him back up and he comes back strong and ready to rock.”
Kikuchi’s spot in the rotation was filled Tuesday night by left-hander Sam Aldegheri, who has been called up for the second time this season. Aldegheri was making his first major league start since Sept. 28 and just the sixth of his big league career.
MILESTONE CHASER
Right-handed reliever Kirby Yates was activated from the injured list and was in line to make his season debut Tuesday.
Yates, 39, was placed on the injured list since the end of spring training with left knee inflammation.
“I feel good and ready to go,” Yates said. “I didn’t feel like minor league games were kind of necessary anymore.”
Yates sat two saves away from 100 heading into his 12th MLB season and was 28 appearances from 500 since making his debut in 2014 with the Tampa Bay Rays.
“When you play as long as I have, I think that’s the one thing you want,” Yates said about his longevity. “To get over 10 years in the big leagues with 500 games is kind of the benchmark, so hoping to get there.”
One thing Yates will have to work into as he returns to the major leagues is velocity, after showing a fastball in the 90-mph range during his most recent minor league rehab outing Saturday with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. But where Yates has found success has been with a split-finger pitch.
“I don’t think I threw the ball that bad, considering what the circumstances were when I went down,” Yates said. “I felt like, man, it’s pretty good. There were some pitches that could have been a lot better but that kind of came with the territory. I feel like I’m in a good spot to go out there and compete and help us win.”
To make room on the active roster, left-hander Tayler Saucedo was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake after making one appearance Sunday and allowing one run in two-thirds of an inning against the New York Mets.
NOTES
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who has been on the injured list with a small fracture in his left wrist since April 26, has progressed to light swings in the batting cage and is throwing to bases but has not caught a bullpen yet. … Right-handed reliever Ben Joyce, who had labrum surgery last year, threw 15 pitches in an inning of work for Rancho Cucamonga on Tuesday. … Minor league right-hander Caden Dana, who is in the rotation at Salt Lake, was named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week after he gave up one run and one hit over five innings against Sacramento on Thursday and retired 13 consecutive batters at one point. … Right-hander Tyler Bremner, the club’s top prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was removed from his start for Class-A Tri-City because of illness. Bremner has a 1.50 ERA over five starts (18 innings).
UP NEXT
White Sox (LHP Noah Schultz, 2-1, 2.53 ERA) at Angels (RHP Walbert Ureña, 0-3, 3.86 ERA), Wednesday, 1:07 p.m., Angels Broadcast Television, 830 AM