Kikuchi could see his innings limited down the stretch if the Mariners opt to expand their starting rotation to six pitchers, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. "It's just a different schedule here than Japan, having to pitch more frequently and maybe a little more stressful innings," manager Scott Servais said. "We have to be patient with this. We said from Day 1 it's a developmental year for him. There have been some good signs and some outings that haven't been as good. He will learn from it."
The team had planned to be particularly watchful of Kikuchi's innings in his first season stateside, and a plan to limit him to just a one-inning start approximately once a month had even been initially put in place to help in that regard. However, Servais has ultimately only deployed that strategy twice, and the Japanese southpaw is on pace for approximately 169 frames, which was more or less his target range. Prospects Justus Sheffield and Justin Dunn are two possibilities for a sixth starter role if it is indeed implemented.