In an interesting report from ESPN’s Buster Olney, the New York Yankees will bring back Ichiro Suzuki for another season.
But what’s interesting about that is that Suzuki reportedly declined a two-year, $14 million offer from the Phillies to sign the one-year deal with New York.
The Phillies are in need of another corner outfielder and the pursuit of Ichiro became a curious one. Ichiro isn’t exactly known for his pop, especially with Cody Ross, Nick Swisher and Josh Hamilton still out there.
The price tag and years that Ross, Swisher and Hamilton are asking for must be turning off the Phillies. Hamilton is still trying to land a five-year deal somewhere while Swisher and Ross want four and three years respectively.
Suzuki, 39, would have made a nice lead-off hitter, but that would have given the Phillies an outfield of Suzuki, Domonic Brown, Ben Revere and Darin Ruf. The only way that deal would have made sense is if the Phillies then traded Brown for 36-year-old Alfonso Soriano, which would have continued to increase the age of the team.
TTB 