Cubs are a surprise finalist for Japanese superstar Seiya Suzuki

A report from a baseball outlet in Japan definitely caught us all off-guard, indicating the Chicago Cubs are among the four finalists vying for the services of superstar outfielder Seiya Suzuki.  Other teams mentioned in the report include the Mariners, Giants and Padres. There have been some reports from Yahoo Japan that the Red Sox are the favorites, but this Nikkan Sports report does not mention them. Suzuki cannot sign an MLB deal with a club until the lockout is over.

Is Seiya Suzuki that outfield bat the Chicago Cubs have been looking for?

If this report is accurate, the Cubs still seem to have a chance to land Suzuki. The 27-year old outfielder has 902 career NPB games under his belt in both the Japanese Western League and Japanese Central League. He is a career .315/.414/.570 hitter in NPB play, with 182 home runs, 562 RBI, a .985 OPS and 82 stolen bases. Suzuki committed to signing with an MLB team prior to the lockout, but he did not sign before the CBA expired.

The Nikkan Sports report says that Suzuki’s camp is preparing to resume negotiations for when the lockout ends. It then said that according to U.S. Baseball Officials, the final round of negotiations is expected to involve the Cubs, Mariners, Giants and Padres. All of these teams have facilities in Arizona, while teams like the Yankees and Red Sox have facilities in Florida.

Because of that, they missed out on “Round 1” of negotiations, per the article. This is where the Nikkan Sports report seemingly contradicts the Yahoo Japan report that had the Red Sox as finalists.

"At the moment, Mariners, Cubs, Giants and Padres are considered to be finalists, and there is a big view that teams with camping facilities in Florida, such as the Red Sox and the Yankees who were late in the first round, are inferior."

The article then added that Suzuki “is the top priority target” for the Cubs. Specifically, the report notes the fact there’s reps to be had in Chicago, after the team dismantled the core – and, specifically, in the outfield.

This is not the first time the Cubs have been linked to Suzuki, so it is not necessarily a surprise that they are being mentioned as suitors for him. What the real question is, do they have a shot to land him? Is the Yahoo report regarding the Red Sox accurate? Time will tell, but the dream of Suzuki to the Cubs does not appear to be fully dead yet.