Yusei Kikuchi shut down from throwing in hopes to avoid surgery

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Answers regarding the severity of left-hander Yusei Kikuchi’s shoulder injury remain a mystery, but it is now known, at least, what the tentative plan is for Kikuchi.

Angels manager Kurt Suzuki told reporters before Tuesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox that Kikuchi will be shut down from throwing for three to four weeks, and then will begin a throwing program to assess where he is at.

The Angels placed Kikuchi on the 15-day injured list on Sunday with shoulder inflammation after leaving his last start on Wednesday after only two innings. It took a few days to put him on the injured list because the Angels wanted to get more answers after the initial MRI was taken.

Although it’s approaching a week after the initial MRI, the Angels still will not say what those results are.

“I didn’t get the full scope of what happened,” Suzuki said. “All I was told was we’re going to shut him down for three to four weeks of no throwing, and then we’re going to rehab him and build him back up.”

Just because he isn’t having surgery now, it doesn’t mean that surgery is off the table completely. Especially with the team not revealing what the MRI and other testing show.

“Obviously, we’ll know more after his rehab, but the initial plan is definitely encouraging,” Suzuki said. “You never obviously want anybody in surgery, but especially in Yusei’s case, hopefully we can build him back, and he comes back strong and ready to rock.”

I guess we’ll know more when he starts throwing again, how it’s doing, or anything like that. Right now, the plan is to build him back up and no surgery, and get going.”

Kikuchi was the lone All-Star representative from the Angels in 2025, but things haven’t shaken out his way this year.

In seven starts this season, the soon-to-be 35-year-old has a 5.81 ERA in seven starts and opponents are hitting .282 against him.

One of the substantial differences from last year to this year is his pitch mix.

This year, Kikuchi is throwing his fastball nearly double the amount of times as his slider. He’s thrown his fastball 33% of the time and slider 19.2% time.

Last year, he threw the slider 36.2% of the time and the fastball 34.9% of the time.

Opponents hit .310 against his fastball and .254 against his slider in 2025, and are hitting .349 off the fastball and .333 off the slider this year.

Another massive difference for him this year is his arm angle.

Kikuchi lowered his arm angle from 42 degrees to 36 after being traded to the Houston Astros at the 2024 trade deadline, because he began to throw his slider far more often. He kept that same arm angle with the Angels in 2025, but has raised it all the way to 49 degrees this season, which is the second-highest mark in his career, only behind the 2020 season of 50 degrees.

A study from January 2025 found that lower arm angles can reduce stress on the elbow and shoulder. Whether or not the higher arm slot is the culprit for Kikuchi is unknown, as arm injuries have unfortunately become part of the routine for pitchers in today’s game.

In the absence of the Angels’ highest-paid pitcher, the Angels called up pitching prospect left-hander Sam Aldegheri to start on Tuesday, and it is unclear what the plan is moving forward with Kikuchi’s start day.

Right-handers Caden Dana and George Klassen are both options on the Angels’ 40-man roster who are in Triple-A Salt Lake. Dana has prior MLB experience in brief stints and Klassen made two starts this season with the Angels, although they weren’t very good. Klassen is pitching well in Triple-A Salt Lake, though, with a 4.19 ERA in four starts.

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