Ichiro Suzuki’s agent starts talking with multiple teams – MLB News Update
New York Yankees’ veteran outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is frustrated at the fact the Yankees have not renewed his contract so far. Ichiro had a decent time on the plate with the Yankees last season as he hit .322 in 67 games. Not only is Ichiro an excellent
hitter, he can prove to be an asset as a defensive player.
Suzuki’s brilliant performances in closing stages of the season instantly made him a fan favourite but the Yankees are not showing interest in offering him a contract for the next season. According to sources, Ichiro’s willingness to await Yankees’ decision
has gone down to the point where he wants his agent to talk with other clubs to find him a better deal.
In an interview, Suzuki’s agent Tony Attanasio said his client does not care what the Yankees are doing. If Ichiro can find a decent deal, he is likely to go through with it. Tony further added that a lot of Major League Baseball teams have shown interest
in his client.
“His preference is to stay there instead of going someplace else, but we’ll wait and see,” Attanasio said a week ago yesterday.
“I’m really not in position to comment, but our focus was first on pitching and see the amount of dollars we needed to secure pitching,” Cashman said in an interview. “Now we’ll focus on players who want to talk to us.”
However, since Ichiro loved played in The Bronx, he does not mind waiting for the Yankees. There are several reasons why the Yankees have not offered him a contract as yet. Firstly, General Manager Brian Cashman has already spent a considerable amount of
money on the starting rotation.
The Yankees will be paying $10 million to Mariano Rivera, $12 million to veteran starting pitcher Andy Pettitte and $15 million to Hiroki Kuroda in the next season. Therefore, it is hard to see them spending lavishly on the position players. The annual Winter
Meetings are expected to take place in Nashville this week and it will be interesting to see if the Yankees shift their focus to position players thereafter.
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