With the owner-imposed MLB lockout — here’s a quick fact check of commissioner Rob Manfred’s claims, by the way — one of the many pieces of business that has been affected is the posting of Japanese star Seiya Suzuki. He was posted on Nov. 22 and once the owners decided to proceed with their “defensive” lockout, the 30-day posting clock was frozen. When the lockout ends, Suzuki still has around three weeks to come to an agreement with an MLB team.
On that front, there are reports that a trio of AL East teams have been the hottest in pursuit of Suzuki. Per the Boston Sports Journal, “one major league source reports the Yankees, Blue Jays and Red Sox have been the most aggressive in pursuit of Suzuki.”
Suzuki, 27, hit .317/.433/.636 with 26 doubles, 38 homers, 88 RBI, 77 runs and nine steals in 134 games last season for the Hiroshima Carp in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In his nine-year career in NPB, he’s hit .309/.402/.541. In the last three seasons, he’s walked more than he’s struck out and he’s averaged 30 homers a year over the last six.
A right-fielder, in all likelihood, Suzuki also has a strong arm. He had 13 outfield assists last season.
On the Blue Jays, Suzuki could push Randal Grichuk and Lourdes Gurriel into some sort of time share. The Red Sox recently traded Hunter Renfroe, so there’s a natural fit in Fenway Park’s right field. The Yankees have Aaron Judge in right, Joey Gallo in left and Giancarlo Stanton at DH, but they could shift things around and, with a player of Suzuki’s caliber, they’d manage to make room.
These three teams will have company, too, once there’s a new CBA and Suzuki’s posting is unfrozen.
