TEAMS ARE NOW LINING UP FOR ICHIRO

We knew it was coming.  The bottom line is, Ichiro Suzuki at 41, at 51, is still a good player in my opinion. Not a starter, but a backup.  I love his approach at the plate and while he may not get as many hits as we'd all like at this age, he's still a decent corner outfielder... I'd take him over Carlos Beltran any day... and he can still run. If you use Ichiro as a bench player, which is probably the only position left for him on any team at this point... that could bring many positives and help a club.

We already reported that the Marlins are interested in Ichiro.  Tha twas in a piece titled NOW OTHER TEAMS ARE SNIFFING AROUND ICHIRO'S HYDRANT...

Before that, it was the Orioles in:  ORIOLES ARE STILL CREEPING AROUND ICHIRO...

Well... now it appears that the Toronto Blue Jays are dipping their foot in Ichiro's water... wow. That sounds weird.  I guess I'm overstepping in my attempt to be provocative when writing about teams checking in on players.  I apologize.

It's true though. The Jays may be interested in Ichiro too now.  According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today:

Ichiro Suzuki, so far, is drawing interest from the #BlueJays, #Marlins and #Orioles, who are all looking for outfield help.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 7, 2015

Alittle background on Ichiro's numbers... this was a nice breakdown by Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk:

"Ichiro, 41, has made $6.5 million each of the past two seasons. But after four seasons with an aggregate line of .275/.308/.353 with 104 stolen bases, he’s going to have to take a big paycut and most likely serve as a fourth or fifth outfielder. "

I wonder who's going to get Ichiro? I may be in the minority, but I think Ichiro's a prize.

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