The Mariners Aren't Out of the Shohei Sweepstakes Just Yet

Rich History of Signing Japanese Players

Ichiro Suzuki. Kazuhiro Sasaki. Yusei Kikuchi. Hisashi Iwakuma. Munenori Kawasaki. The list of Japanese players that started in Seattle or spent a significant portion of their major league careers with the Mariners is extensive. Ichiro is still involved with the team to this day, taking batting practice and shagging fly fly balls while in full uniform. He might be the Mariners' secret weapon in convincing Ohtani to sign a deal. Munenori Kawasaki cited the opportunity to play with Ichiro as one of the main reasons he decided to sign a minor league deal with the team.

Ohtani has publicly demonstrated his admiration of Ichiro as one of the first and most successful Japanese superstars in MLB. His presence and continued involvement with the team could be an important key differentiator from other highly-competitive destinations, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.

Positional Availability

An interesting story by Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times was published in 2018 that detailed Ohtani's first meeting with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Because this was prior to the implementation of the universal DH rule, Ohtani would only be able to hit on the days that he pitched, defeating the purpose of being a two-way player and eliminating any chance of him signing with a National League team at the time.

For many of the teams that are in contention for the Shohei sweepstakes, many of them already have a crowded rotations and lineups. Obviously, Shohei would have no problem finding a spot but it would inevitably push out two players and create waste on a team's payroll. For example, the Astros have room in the back of their starting rotation but Ohtani's presence as a DH would force Yordan Alvarez into the outfield, something that could create a defensive liability akin to Kyle Schwarber's -21 defensive runs saved this year.

The Mariners honestly haven't had a consistently productive designated hitter since Edgar Martinez hung up his cleats in 2004 and definitely have room in their starting rotation. At worst, the Mariners would cut loose a couple of bad contracts and trade away their existing pitching talent to acquire more prospects to bolster the farm for the future.

Winning Culture & Upwards Trajectory

This is probably where some of the other contestants have Seattle beat. Still one of the few teams to have never won a World Series and the only team to never have even made it to the main event, the Mariners don't exactly have the rich history of winning that people might think Ohtani is seeking.

However, what Seattle might have more of than others is potential. Despite Jerry Dipoto's depressing comments about the allure of winning "54% of games," it does seem that the front office has been more aggresive over the past few years when it comes to acquiring and retaining talent than before. Julio Rodriguez's contract extension is a a great example. Committing to a 12-year, $209 million contract this early into a player's career was a bold move but it was clearly the correct one giving how he's performed these past two seasons.

The purse strings are still a bit tighter than most fans would hope but there's evidence that they'd come loose for the right names. Luis Castillo signed a five-year, $108 million contract and while it's been a disappointing deal thus far, Robbie Ray was signed for $115 million over five years following his Cy Young campaign in 2021.

As stated earlier, money is not the primary concern on Ohtani's mind, but if management wants to commit to building a solid team around him, it might be enough for him to take a less-lucrative deal. If that ends up being the case, Seattle might be planning a World Series parade sooner rather than later.