Astros acquire Yusei Kikuchi from Blue Jays for prospect Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido and prospect

HOUSTON (AP) — The Astros acquired left-hander Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday for 23-year-old right-hander Jake Bloss, rookie outfielder Joey Loperfido and minor league first baseman Will Wagner.

The 33-year-old Kikuchi is 4-9 with a 4.75 ERA in 22 starts this season, striking out 130 and walking 30 in 115 2/3 innings. He is 0-4 with a 7.75 ERA in eight starts since winning at Milwaukee on June 11.

Kikuchi is 35-46 with a 4.72 ERA in six seasons with Seattle and the Blue Jays. He has a $10 million salary in the final season of a $36 million, three-year contract and can become a free agent after the World Series.

“His stuff has always been really good,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “I’m excited to get him with our pitching department so we can make some adjustments to how he pitches, how he can be more efficient, but the stuff is really good.”

Kikuchi joins a rotation that includes Ronel Blanco, Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez and Spencer Arrighetti. Houston's rotation is missing Justin Verlander (neck stiffness), Cristian Javier and José Urquidy (both Tommy John surgery).

Toronto manager John Schneider said it was tough to say goodbye to Kikuchi and Justin Turner, who got traded to the Mariners in a separate deal.

“We wish him and (Turner) the best,” Schneider said. “I know they’re two American League teams, but you look at the people over the player, and they’re two of the most well-respected players in the big leagues.”

Bloss was scratched from his scheduled start against Pittsburgh on Monday.

He was selected from Georgetown with the 99th pick in the third round of the 2023 amateur draft and signed for a $497,500 bonus. Bloss made his major league debut on June 23 and is 0-1 with a 6.94 ERA in three starts. He went on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation a day after his big league debut and was activated July 11.

Bloss had 13 starts at three minor league levels this year and went 4-2 with a 1.64 ERA. Wagner is the son of former Astros closer Billy Wagner.

“A lot of these guys have high price tags,” Astros GM Dana Brown said. “Getting a major league starter with that type of arm, you’re going to have to give up some pretty good players. It’s pretty difficult to give up young talent, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to stabilize our rotation so that we can get back to the postseason and potentially get deep into the postseason.”

Toronto began the season with a $244 million luxury tax payroll, $7 million over the tax threshold. As the deadline approached, the Blue Jays also dealt third baseman Justin Turner to Seattle, catcher Danny Jansen to Boston, right-hander Nate Pearson to the Chicago Cubs and right-hander Yimi García to Seattle.

The 25-year-old Loperfido made his major league debut on April 30 and is hitting .236 with two homers and 16 RBIs.

Wagner, who turned 26 on Monday, was hitting .307 with five homers and 41 RBIs for Triple-A Sugar Land.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher River Ryan celebrates after striking out Houston Astros' Joey Loperfido during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (16) throws to a Detroit Tigers batter in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy" Combs was expected to appear before a federal judge in New York on Tuesday after his indictment on undisclosed criminal charges.

The music mogul was arrested late Monday in Manhattan, roughly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his luxurious homes in Los Angeles and Miami.

The indictment detailing the charges was expected to be unsealed Tuesday morning, according to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

Over the past year, Combs has been sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse. He has denied many of those allegations and his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, called the new indictment an “unjust prosecution.”

“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said in a statement late Monday.

Combs, 58, was recognized as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations that emerged over the past year turned him into an industry pariah.

In November, his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit saying he had beaten and raped her for years. She accused Combs of coercing her, and others, into unwanted sex in drug-fueled settings.

The suit was settled in one day but months later CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her on a floor. After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, “I was disgusted when I did it.”

Combs and his attorneys, however, denied similar allegations made by others in a string of lawsuits.

Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Cassie, said in a statement Tuesday that “neither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment.”

“We appreciate your understanding and if that changes, we will certainly let you know,” he added.

A woman said Combs raped her two decades ago when she was 17. A music producer sued, saying Combs forced him to have sex with prostitutes. Another woman, April Lampros, said Combs subjected her to “terrifying sexual encounters,” starting when she was a college student in 1994.

The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie and Lampros did.

Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has gotten out of legal trouble before.

In 2001, he was acquitted of charges related to a Manhattan nightclub shooting two years earlier that injured three people. His then-protege, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges and served about eight years in prison.

Associated Press writer Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

FILE - Host Sean "Diddy" Combs presents the revolt black excellence award at the Billboard Music Awards, May 15, 2022, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Sean 'Diddy' Combs is expected in court after New York indictment

Sean 'Diddy' Combs is expected in court after New York indictment

FILE - Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of "The Four: Battle For Stardom" at the CBS Radford Studio Center on May 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)