Angels Officially Name Opening Day Starter for 2025 Season

Sep 22, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington talks with Houston Astros coaches on the field before the game at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Angels named left-hander Yusei Kikuchi as their Opening Day starter. The announcement comes as no surprise given Kikuchi was the prized jewel of the winter for the Halos.

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With Yusei Kikuchi's Opening Day start, the #Angels and Dodgers would be the only Major League teams to have had multiple Japanese-born pitchers make an Opening Day start on the mound. https://t.co/cyVtaCJfui

— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) February 20, 2025

Angels manager Ron Washington affirmed the organization's decision to select Kikuchi.

“It’s obvious,” the Angels manager said, via Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register. “We just signed him to a big contract. We didn’t bring him here to be our No. 4 or No. 5. We didn’t bring him here to be No. 3 or No. 2. We brought him here to lead our staff. That’s the obvious part.”

The Angels' biggest contract of the offseason was Kikuchi's three-year, $63 million deal. It was the largest free-agent deal for an Angels pitcher since C.J. Wilson in 2011, indicating the southpaw was poised to play a big role for the Halos in 2025.

“Very happy and honored,” Kikuchi said through his interpreter. “I’m hoping that we can just get off to a good start, starting from Game 1.”

Kikuchi will make his first ever Opening Day start against the Chicago White Sox, so he has a good chance of starting his Angels tenure on a high note.

“Obviously, it’s my seventh year now in the bigs,” Kikuchi said. “I’ve been around, so I would like to help out in any way I can for the young guys, but I have a routine, so I hope guys can take notice of like what I do in order to prepare for games and stuff like that.”

Beyond leadership in the clubhouse, the Angels are hoping Kikuchi provides the team with a consistent frontline starter. Last season, he produced a 4.05 ERA in 32 starts with the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.

“What really helped was using the backdoor slider more,” Kikuchi said. “It’s something I always had, but I just wasn’t using it and with the Houston Astros, they helped me figure that out again. I’d like to use that more this year.”

Kikuchi's debut in Cactus League games will be delayed as he is taking a cautious approach in camp.

“Two years ago, we had a plan about going my pace, taking it slow, because if I throw too much and I ramp up too quickly, it’s not good for my shoulder and elbow,” Kikuchi said.

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