When Major League Baseball's lockout concludes, teams will have 20 remaining days to reach a deal with Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who was posted 10 days before the sport's work stoppage.
While there's always a level of risk when signing players who have never played in MLB to lucrative deals, we would bet that whoever signs Suzuki will end up getting a player that outperforms his first deal.
The 27-year-old homered slashed .317/.433/.639 with 38 home runs, 88 RBIs and a 1.038 OPS in his ninth season for the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball, considered by most to be the second best baseball league in the world.
In addition to homering 91 times in his last three seasons, Suzuki also possesses a cannon in right field:
At the outset of the offseason, MLB Trade Rumors projected that Suzuki would land a five-year/$55 million deal. Here's five teams that could potentially give him such a pact:
New York Yankees
Seiya Suzuki is hoping to come from NPB to MLB.(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)In early December, Sean McAdam of Boston Sports Journal reported that the Yankees were among a trio of American League East teams who had been "the most aggressive" in their pursuit of Suzuki. With Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Joey Gallo under contract for 2022, the Yankees feel like a bit of a curious fit for Suzuki. However, it's possible they believe he could be a fit in center field, or that he could play left field and push Gallo to center field. While most Japanese players who have come to America have gravitated towards playing with West Coast teams, the Yankees are an international brand, and have employed Japanese superstars such as Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki and Masahiro Tanaka.
Texas Rangers
Seiya Suzuki is hoping to come from NPB to MLB.(Masterpress/Getty Images)Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News noted last week that the Rangers "like" Suzuki, adding that massive expenditures on Corey Seager and Marcus Semien make Suzuki and Kyle Schwarber better fits for the Rangers than some of the other remaining outfielders or outfield-adjacent players targeting over $100 million. At the outset of the offseason, MLB.com's Mike Petriello opined that the biggest need on the Rangers roster was "everything." You can only do so much in one offseason, but walking away with Seager, Semien, Suzuki and Jon Gray would be a pretty good place to start.
Toronto Blue Jays
Seiya Suzuki is hoping to come from NPB to MLB.(Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)The Blue Jays were another team tabbed among "the most aggressive" pursuers of Suzuki in the aforementioned report by McAdam. This would be a case of the rich getting even richer, and the Blue Jays may need to do that to win a division with three other teams who believe they can compete for a World Series in 2022.Suzuki would seemingly push Randal Grichuk into either being a fourth outfielder or a trade candidate. An outfield of Suzuki, George Springer and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. would be a pretty imposing group.
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Philadelphia Phillies
Seiya Suzuki is hoping to come from NPB to MLB.(Masterpress/Getty Images)Of the five teams on this list, the Phillies are the only team who haven't yet been connected to Suzuki in a report. However, the Phillies are looking to add both a leadoff hitter and more lineup protection behind reigning National League MVP Bryce Harper. Suzuki could fill either role. They are also looking to upgrade defensively, and while Suzuki would likely need to move to left field if he signed with the Phillies, one would think he would be a massive upgrade over the -7 defensive runs saved that Andrew McCutchen posted at the position in 2021. Suzuki might not be the No. 1 outfield target for Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies, but he should be pretty high on their list.
Boston Red Sox
Seiya Suzuki is hoping to come from NPB to MLB.(Matt Roberts/Getty Images)The final team connected to Suzuki via McAdams' report, the Red Sox could very well add another corner outfielder after the lockout given their recent trade of Hunter Renfroe to the Milwaukee Brewers. That may mean that Chaim Bloom and Boston re-sign Kyle Schwarber, who spent the second-half of the 2021 season with the Red Sox. If Schwarber goes elsewhere, though, Suzuki could slot into right field and push Alex Verdugo to left field, which is probably his best position anyway. For what it's worth, reliever Ryan Brasier called Suzuki "a stud" when asked about his former Japanese teammate by WEEI's Rob Bradford.
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