Multiple reports have confirmed that WBSC Premier12 2019 MVP Seiya Suzuki has signed with the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). The five-year deal is reportedly worth US$ 85 million.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, it's MLB's highest figure for a Japanese position player, the second-best behind Masahiro Tanaka's 2014 $155 million deal with the New York Yankees.
Suzuki, 27, is a right-handed, slugging gold glove outfielder. The Hiroshima Toyo Carp drafted him out of high school in 2012. He was mainly a pitcher in high school and played in the infield until 2015 when he became an everyday player.
He spent his Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) career with Hiroshima, playing 1,055 over nine seasons (2013-2021). He had 1,088 hits, .309 batting average, .402 on-base percentage, including 189 home runs, 208 doubles and 21 triples, and 621 runs batted in (RBIs).
He went 12-for-27 in the WBSC Premier12 2019, with three home runs and 13 RBIs.
Suzuki was part of the Samurai Japan team that won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
He also represented Japan at the WBSC U-21 Baseball World Cup 2014.
