Kikuchi was a free agent. Do you know what that means? You can't say it was a B L U N D E R because they had no power in the decision. Historically, Asian players gravitate to the coasts and Kikuchi's wife is a former model, singer, and TV personality- what are the odds he was simply going to LA or NY no matter what? I wish he was here but the Astros had no control over the decision.
Even if he wanted to come back, we were never going to prioritize a SP over a bat. Further, we were never going to go over the luxury tax again, especially in the offseason, so they weren't going to sign both Kikuchi and Walker. People don't seem to understand it's not just about the money but also the draft penalties that come with being over the tax.
Once again, they were never going over the luxury tax this offseason. Hindsight 20/20, yes, the money would have been better spent on Kikuchi than Walker. That said, we are 10th in SP ERA with LMJ hopefully being exiled soon with the return of Arrighetti and Javier. We are 15th in runs scored. So no, starting pitching hasn't been a bigger issue than the offense. You can cry about the FO signing another bust at 1B but it was absolutely the right move getting a bat instead of a re-signing Kikuchi.
I actually wanted them to bring in another SP (and trade Framber) but my point is free agents are free to go where they want You can't blame a team for a free agent leaving unless it is confirmed he wanted to return and they did not offer, or low-ball offered him. And that was not in any reports. And for the record, the Kikuchi deal was a great value for any team and I wish he had chosen Houston.
Yeah, you aren't wrong but Stros4bros seems to think we should have kept Framber and signed Kikuchi like we have unlimited money (hell he's even in here saying we should have offered way more to entice him to re-sign with us). We were never going to add a $20M+ starter and a $20M bat this offseason while also keeping Framber and his $18M. That's my point - it really didn't matter what Kikuchi wanted. Although, I do agree he likely wanted to be on the west coast.
