Yusei Kikuchi

is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kikuchi formerly played for the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League.

He is the first Japanese-born player to make his major league debut in Japan.

 Professional career 

 Saitama Seibu Lions 
On November 20, 2009, Kikuchi signed a pro deal with the Saitama Seibu Lions; the deal included a 100 million yen (about $1 million) signing bonus, a 15 million yen ($150,000) first year salary, and 50 million yen ($500,000) in performance bonuses.Newman, Patrick. Kikuchi Signs With Seibu, NPB Tracker. Published November 20, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2009.

After the 2011 season, Seibu announced that Kikuchi would join the Melbourne Aces of the Australian Baseball League (ABL).

In 2018, Kikuchi was selected for the 2018 NPB All-Star game.

On December 3, 2018, Seibu announced it was allowing Kikuchi to enter the posting system to play in Major League Baseball (MLB), with the 30-day period starting a month later.

 Seattle Mariners 
On January 2, 2019, Kikuchi signed a four-year contract with the Seattle Mariners. Kikuchi made his MLB debut on March 21, 2019, going 4.2 innings while allowing 2 runs (1 earned) and striking out 3.

 Toronto Blue Jays 
On March 14, 2022, Kikuchi signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.

 References 

Category:1991 births
Category:Japanese baseball players
Category:Seattle Mariners players
Category:Toronto Blue Jays players
Category:Sportspeople from Iwate Prefecture
Category:Living people