After days of hinting at a deal with Ichiro Suzuki, the New York Yankees have reportedly signed the free-agent outfielder to a two-year deal worth around $13 million, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.
Yankees sign Ichiro Suzuki to 2-year deal
New York has brought the veteran outfielder back to the Bronx for two more years.
Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE
The 39-year-old Suzuki came to the Bronx in July after spending the first 11½ years of his big-league career with the Seattle Mariners. The future Hall of Famer struggled with the bat in the first half of 2012 but really turned things around when he arrived in New York, hitting .322/.340/.454 with five home runs in 67 games.
Currently sitting at 2,606 hits in his MLB career, a two-year deal gives Ichiro the outside chance of reaching the 3,000-hit milestone as a Yankee by the end of the 2014 season. Ichiro has averaged 216 hits per season over his career and needs just 394 more -- 197 hits per season -- to reach the mark.
Suzuki's addition to the Yankees' outfield gives New York an outfield full of lefty bats, with Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson also setting up on the "wrong side" of the plate. New York is unlikely to go forward with nothing but left-handed hitters in the outfield, so the club could now look to add a righty bat from the free-agent market.
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