The Chicago Cubs have a lot of key players hitting the open market all at the same time this offseason. Their starting rotation is getting gutted, with Shota Imanaga, Kevin Gausman, Matthew Boyd, and Clay Holmes all set to be free agents.
Their markets will be interesting to follow, especially regarding where the Cubs are involved or not. But the pair of beloved outfielders hitting free agency at the same time is the really interesting situation to monitor.
Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ are both free agents, and seeing how they fare is going to be interesting. But a recent prediction from Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report on Suzuki, coming in at just $66 million over three years, would be quite the disappointment.
Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki gets disappointing $66M contract prediction
“Predicted Contract: 3 years, $66 million,” Reuter predicts. “A three-year, $66 million deal would match the contract the Dodgers gave corner outfield slugger Teoscar Hernandez when he was the same age, though his status as arguably the No. 2 bat on the market could get him a fourth year.”
Suzuki is going to be a free agent this offseason, unless the Cubs find a way to get an extension done before the offseason begins.
With so many teams in need of right-handed hitting, especially in the outfield, Suzuki is someone who could fetch quite the return on the open market.
But a $66 million prediction over three years would come in at just $22 million per-year. While not a bad mark by any means, it’s not the kind of deal that Suzuki might be hoping for. It’s a little underwhelming considering the year he just had.
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This past season was his best year in the big leagues. Suzuki posted 5.1 bWAR with 26 homers, a .270 batting average, and an .841 OPS to go with great defense in the outfield.
While he is a little bit older at 32 years old, Suzuki is the kind of player who should fetch a larger deal than this one projected by Reuter.
A Gold Glove-caliber defender coming off a season with 26 homers, over 5.0 bWAR, and an OPS north of .840 is clearly one of the more valuable players in the big leagues.
With the demand likely high, if Suzuki did wind up signing for just $66 million over three years, it would be a tad disappointing. But even though it’d be disappointing, a $66 million deal is still a lot of money, and wouldn’t be a horrible free agency for Suzuki.
