On Wednesday, local time, the Chicago Cubs officially announced that they and Japanese fielder Makoto Suzuki also reached a five-year 70 million contract. Because Suzuki joined in accordance with the Japan-U.S. entry system, Komatsuki also paid a separate 12.375 million yuan (equivalent to a transfer fee) to Suzuki's NPB parent team, Hiroshima Toyo Carp, according to the contract amount, which translates to suzuki's actual cost of less than 17 million yuan per year.
This is the largest U.S. entry contract signed by a Japanese fielder in history, second only to Tanaka Shodai and New York Yankees in 2014 with about 155 million. The biggest contract for the Japanese Noders is Ichiro Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners for 5 years and 90 million, which is his third contract after going to the United States.
In 2021, Suzuki played his masterpiece in the NPB, hitting .317/.433/.639, 38 bombs 88 dots, career hits three times.315/.414/.570, accumulating 182 hits and 562 hits. In 2019, Suzuki was named CCTV's Strike King and Home Run Championship, and other honors include 4 All-Stars, 6 Best Nines, and 5 Golden Gloves. In 2021, he was selected for the Japanese national team at the Tokyo Olympics, where he helped hosts win gold medals.
Suzuki met with the Cubs' management on Monday, and the team gave him a high opinion. Cubs head coach David Rose said: "His unique abilities make him extremely valuable at MLB and many teams pursue him. We did everything we could to get him on board, which was the winner's team building model. ”
For the bears, they are still in hibernation mode and they obviously will not pursue good results in the short term. Suzuki is 27 years old and this five-year contract covers his golden age. After a one- to two-year adaptation period, the team is expected to return to competitiveness, when Suzuki will also reach his peak in MLB.
For Suzuki, there may be deep considerations behind abandoning the strong teams that may have achieved results now. Last year's Kanekawa-sung, the previous year's Tsukika Katomo and Shogo Akiyama failed to get a stable performance opportunity because they joined a team with performance pressure or crowded in the same position, resulting in a delay in coming up with the expected results, these are all negative examples.
The Cubs currently have some fielders including Ian Haup, Clint Fraser and Rafael Ortega, given that the National League adopts the DH system this year, and the Cubs are not in a hurry to produce results, Suzuki can get plenty of playing time, and considering that the level of the National League Central Zone is relatively weak, the Players of Dongdu can adapt to the environment more calmly.
Historically, Cubs has introduced Japanese fielder Takasuke Fukuro, who appeared in the All-Star as a first fielder in his rookie year, and only Fukuro and Ichiro have done this so far, but Fukuro's mlb career after Fukuro has been lackluster.
Suzuki is a typical five-beat player in the NPB, with a high batting percentage, strength, and running bases all online. After entering the profession, Suzuki has been using Mike Trout as a template to hone his strike skills, and his bias towards the batting characteristics of attacking from the inside out has also helped to achieve the transition from NPB to MLB, and professionals from all walks of life are generally optimistic that he can quickly play in the United States like Shohei Otani.
Due to the harmonic pronunciation of the name, many old fans in China call Suzuki "Star Arrow", hoping that he can prove the vision of the bear and play the "Pegasus Meteor Fist" in North America.