Ichiro Suzuki could sign a deal with New York Yankees in this week – MLB News
New York Yankees and veteran outfielder Ichiro Suzuki are very close to signing a deal, reports espn.com. Over the last couple of weeks, the Yankees have shown serious interest in re-signing Ichiro for the next season.
The 39 year old outfielder produced some magical performances for the Yankees last season as he hit .322 with 27 RBI’s and 14 stolen bases in 67 games. Overall, he finished the season with a decent .83 average and a .307 on base percentage.
With Nick Swisher looking for a long term deal in free agency, Ichiro could be the Yankees’ everyday right fielder in the upcoming season.
After batting just .261 with a .288 on base percentage, Ichiro moved to New York as part of a mid season trade and exploded. As soon as the season ended, the outfielder expressed his desire to stay in New York. However, as the Yankees went cold on him, Ichiro
started to look for other deals in the free agency.
"Certainly, the city is a major attraction,'' said agent Joe Bick, who noted that Youkilis' uncle owns an eatery in Manhattan.”He loves New York. But let's figure out what direction we're going in here before we get into all of that.''
Even if Ichiro returns for the next season, Yankees’ outfield situation looks far from set. With three left handed outfielders, Curtis Granderson in centre, Suzuki in right and Brett Gardner in left, the Yankees could look to add another right hand bat before
the start of 2013 Spring Training. Former Boston Red Sox’s third base is also close to agreeing to a one year $12 million contract.
“Everything stays on the field. I’ve gotten a chance to talk to him and he’s a nice guy. I’ve had a chance to meet him at the All-Star Game, and he always seemed cool in talking with everybody There’s some guys that, the way they play the game, you say this
guy is not a nice person,” second baseman Robinson Cano said.
According to sources, Youkilis has been weighing Yankees offer against offers made by Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners. A reliable major league baseball source confirmed the Yankees can announce the deal by the end of this week.
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