By Chandler Rome, Ken Rosenthal, Kaitlyn McGrath

HOUSTON — Looking to bolster their injury-plagued starting rotation, the Houston Astros may have made one of the biggest overpayments of the trade deadline.

Houston acquired left-hander Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, giving the team stability in a field that has been short-handed.

The Blue Jays’ return includes touted pitching prospect Jake Bloss, who was scratched from his start Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It also includes outfielder Joey Loperfido and infielder Will Wagner, the son of Astros great Billy Wagner.

Both Loperfido and Bloss made their major league debuts this season. Wagner appeared to be on the edge, with a .307/.424/.429 batting average in 324 plate appearances at Triple-A Sugar Land this year. All three men were among Keith Law’s top 12 Astros prospects entering the season.

It’s a stunning haul for Toronto, which has hired former Houston general manager James Click as vice president of baseball strategy. Astros owner Jim Crane fired Click after Houston’s 2022 World Series win and replaced him with Dana Brown.

Kikuchi is ranked No. 33 among top pitchers and No. 7 among starting pitchers. The Athletics Top 50 Trade Deadline Big Board. He is in the final year of a three-year, $36 million contract he signed with the Blue Jays prior to the 2022 season.

Kikuchi will be eligible for the remainder of his $10 million salary before he becomes a free agent at the end of the season, putting the Astros temporarily above the second luxury tax threshold. Only a long-term extension — doubtful given that Kikuchi is a client of Scott Boras — or an elite performance over the next two months could explain the spoils Houston handed over to acquire him.

Bloss emerged as one of the team’s fastest-rising pitching prospects this season, bypassing Triple-A entirely to make his major league debut in June. Loperfido spent most of the season in Houston’s major league outfield, though a high strikeout rate kept him from finding a regular role. Wagner was touted as an internal option to replace Alex Bregman next season, when he is expected to leave in free agency.

Kikuchi, 33, has had an inconsistent run with the Blue Jays, even losing his spot in the rotation in 2022. But he has emerged as a steady starter, starting a league-leading 22 games this season.

Though he had a 4.75 ERA when he entered Monday’s game, his 10.1 K/9 was among the top 10 in the American League. A 3.64 FIP and .344 batting average on balls in play suggest an accident is to blame for his inflated ERA.

Kikuchi is not a front-line starter, and he is not expected to be one as an Astro. He has thrown at least 155 innings in two of the last three seasons, a volume of innings that few in Houston’s current rotation have ever thrown.

Two of the team’s most consistent starters, Ronel Blanco and Hunter Brown, are on pace to break their all-time highs for innings pitched. Both GM Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada wanted to use a six-man rotation to give them some breathing room, but with six starters on the injured list, there aren’t enough players available to accomplish that.

Kikuchi comes in, immediately slotting into a mid-rotation role behind Blanco, Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez. Kikuchi’s experience in the bullpen could allow him to pitch in meaningful games if Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia return from the injured list.

GO DEEPER

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(Top photo of Yusei Kikuchi: Norm Hall/Getty Images)