Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi has agreed to terms of a contract that guarantees him three years with the Mariners with two options. Jon Heyman of Fancred reported the teams were close to a deal, information came streaming in from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports as well. The three-year deal brings Kikuchi to $43 million the one-time four-year team option is worth a total of $66 million which brings the total to around 109 million. If Kikuchi goes the one year route then it is a one year, $13 million deal that brings the total up to $56 million.
Sources: Yusei Kikuchi has a deal with Mariners
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 1, 2019
Kikuchi has an unusual deal. Has initial 4 year guarantee (3 years plus 2022 player option) but 4th year player option can be replaced by an additional 4 year guarantee for a total of 7 years by the #Mariners
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 1, 2019
The structure of Kikuchi’s contract is an interesting one, he will have three guaranteed years with the Mariners. Then the Mariners can opt to take a one time, four-year option to make the contract with a total of seven years. If the Mariners do not take the four-year option then Kikuchi has a one-year player option that he can use as more of a safety net. If neither the Mariners take the four-year option or Kikuchi declines his one-year player option, then he will become a free agent.
The next biggest question is most likely, who is Yusei Kikuchi? Kikuchi is a 27-year old left-handed starting pitcher from the Japanese Nippon League where he plays for the Seibu Lions. Kikuchi was 74-48 with a 2.81 ERA over eight seasons in the Nippon League. Kikuchi’s pitch repertoire features a mid-90s fastball and a good slider and Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto says his stuff speaks for itself, and he wants to make him apart of the Mariners rebuild. The Mariners were active in scouting Kikuchi after they were unable to sign two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani last year after he went to the Angels.
