Cubs close to deal with Suzuki (report)

MLB.com is keeping track of all the latest news and rumors surrounding Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who is available to Major League Baseball clubs via the posting process.

March 16: Cubs, Suzuki nearing deal (report)
Suzuki has reportedly agreed to a five-year, $70 million deal with the Cubs, according to David Kaplan. The club has not confirmed. More >

March 14: Cubs to meet with Suzuki (report)
Negotiations between Suzuki and the Cubs still appear to be serious. As reported by Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, the Cubs were expected to meet with Suzuki and his representatives on Monday night. The addition of Suzuki would add a much-needed outfielder to Chicago's lineup, as the club added plenty of depth with its offseason additions but could still use another starter to bolster its current mix of Ian Happ, Rafael Ortega and Jason Heyward.

March 14: Multiple teams still involved in Suzuki negotiations (sources)
Although there’s been some speculation that Suzuki could be close to a deal with the Padres, sources told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand and Jon Paul Morosi that the outfielder hasn’t agreed to a contract yet and is being courted by multiple teams.

Suzuki’s 30-day posting window was paused during the lockout and won't expire until later this month, so he still has some time to negotiate with MLB clubs.

The 27-year-old recently worked out for San Diego and is said to be a priority for the Friars, but he’s also been linked to the Mariners, Giants, Dodgers, Cubs and Red Sox. All of those teams remain in the running, reports MLB Network insider Jon Heyman.

March 13: Suzuki is 'Plan A' for Padres
You can add the Padres to the growing list of teams that are interested in Suzuki. Very interested. According to Kevin Acee of the Sun Diego Union-Tribune, Suzuki is the free-agent outfielder that the Padres want most to add this spring. "Suzuki has always appeared to be No. 1 on wish list among top available outfielders," Acee adds.

The Padres' outfield produced a .703 OPS last year, which ranked 24th in the Majors. The 27-year-old Suzuki exceeded a 1.000 OPS in 2018, 2019 and 2021 with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

March 11: Suzuki’s market heating up
Suzuki is receiving considerable interest from a wide range of clubs, with the Mariners, Giants, Dodgers, Cubs and Red Sox among the “hottest pursuers” of the Japanese outfielder, reports MLB Network insider Jon Heyman.

The Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Suzuki’s NPB team in Japan, posted the 27-year-old in November, opening up a 30-day window for him to negotiate with MLB teams. MLB and NPB agreed to freeze the posting window during the lockout, which began Dec. 2.

Suzuki is looking to join an MLB team after hitting .309 with 189 homers and a .943 OPS across nine seasons with Hiroshima. He had an OPS over 1.000 in 2018, ‘19 and ‘21.