As per a report in the Japan Times, Japanese left-handed starter Yusei Kikuchi will be posted by his current team, the Seibu Lions, in early December, giving the 27-year-old thirty days after the posting period begins (Dec 5) to come to an agreement with an MLB club, as per a 2017 agreement (MLB Trade Rumors) between the NPB and MLB.

As per the Times article, “the Lions would then receive a posting fee based on the dollar amount of the pitcher’s contract”, adding that “if he fails to reach a deal within thirty days, he remains with the Lions”.

Kikuchi has a 2.81 earned-run average, 1.177 WHIP, and 2.43 strikeouts-to-walks over eight seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, all with Seibu.

His breakout year came in 2013, pitching to a 1.92 ERA over seventeen starts (108 innings), striking out 111 and walking 78 — his most in a season — as a 22-year-old.

His most-accomplished season to date was his 2017 campaign, when he had a 16-6 record for the Lions in 26 starts, owning a 1.97 ERA, 0.911 WHIP, and a 4.43 strikeouts-to-walks ratio.

Dennis Lin of The Athletic took a look at Kikuchi’s scouting report and possible contract earlier this year.

In 2018 the left-hander went 14-4 for Seibu with a 3.08 ERA, 153 strikeouts, 45 walks, and 1.033 WHIP over 163.2 innings.

The Padres, Phillies, Dodgers, and Red Sox have shown varying degrees of interest in the Japanese hurler, and Kikuchi has hired Scott Boras as his agent per Jon Heyman of FanCred Sports.

Steve Adams of MLBTR breaks down the structural details of a potential deal for Kikuchi, his new MLB team, and the Seibu Lions.

“Beyond the actual contract given to Kikuchi, his new team will need to pay a release fee equal to 20 percent of the first $25 million of the deal, plus 17.5 percent of the next $25 million of the contract, plus another 15 percent of anything beyond $50 million.”

Kikuchi has been lauded for his electric fastball and deceptive slider, with the former sitting in the mid-to-high 90s. Fangraphs included him in their Feb 2018 Top MLB Prospects of Asia article. Author Sung Min Kim included two videos of Kikuchi throwing his signature pitches.

Here’s the fastball.

And here’s the slider.

Kikuchi would be an interesting addition to any MLB team, including the New York Mets. Jason Vargas is currently penciled in as the team’s fifth starter. Despite pitching to a 3.81 ERA over 11 starts in the second half of the season, Vargas posted a career-worst 5.77 ERA for the entire season.

And even though the price tag could be a hefty one, one would have to imagine that when Brodie Van Wagenen expressed his desire to be “in” on every free agent this offseason, Kikuchi was on his list of intriguing options. Indeed, we shall see.