MLB: Ichiro Suzuki To Return Next Season?
The Miami Marlins signed Ichiro Suzuki to a one-year, $2-million contract to be the team's fourth outfielder, as per MLB.com. Owner Jeff Loria was excited in the arrival of Ichiro, saying in a statement, "We are thrilled to have Ichiro Suzuki in a Marlins uniform. He is the ultimate professional, on and off the field, and will make an excellent addition to our ballclub."
The Marlins started the season with high hopes after an excellent season last year, but according to Latin Post, injuries and inconsistencies have led to a possible overhaul of the entire organization next season. Clark Spencer of Miami Herald said on Twitter that 11 of 13 players on the opening day roster were released, demoted or placed on the disabled list.
Jeff Baker and Jarrod Saltalamacchia were released, Marcell Ozuna and Donovan Solano struggled and were demoted while Dee Gordon, Don Kelly, Jeff Mathis, Michael Morse, Martin Prado, Giancarlo Stanton, and Christian Yelich spent some time on the disabled list, as reported by New York Post.
Only Adeiny Hechavarria and 41-year-old Ichiro are the last two men standing from the roster. The Japanese outfielder headed the team in the games with 141 with 409 plate appearances. Currently, he has an average of .239 with 89 hits, a home run, 44 runs scored and 20 runs batted in, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill told New York Post that they are happy with the 2001 AL MVP's performance and is open to resigning him another year to get him to have 3,000 MLB hits. Hill said, "We are very pleased with the job he's done for us. Who would've thought at the beginning of the season that he'd lead our team in games played?"
"It speaks to the number of injuries we've had. Anyway, we will wait until the season ends, but I anticipate us trying to bring him back," the president of baseball operations added.
In an interview with ESPN in 2014, the Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer said that he has no plans of retirement anytime soon. "Retirement from baseball is something I haven't even thought about. Not just a few. Many. For me, I feel there's no reason for me to retire right now," Ichiro said.
At his age, the Japanese is probably not going to retire until he gets his 3,000th hit to ensure his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame. As of now, Ichiro has 2,933 hits and is on pace to finishing the season with 2,949, as per NBC Sports. In the Marlins point of view, Ichiro trying to get this milestone will provide an increase in next season's attendance.
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