Ex-Marlin Ichiro is close to signing an MLB deal. Here’s where he’s likely heading

Ichiro Suzuki has said on numerous occasions that he would like to continue playing baseball until he’s 50.

While seven more years in the big leagues is anything but guaranteed, it’s looking like the 44-year-old outfielder will have a chance to play for least one more season.

Suzuki, who spent the past three seasons with the Miami Marlins, is getting close to finalizing a one-year major-league deal with the Seattle Mariners, according to a report by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Suzuki played his first 11 full seasons in the majors with Seattle before being traded to the New York Yankees midway through the 2012 season. He opened his MLB career with 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons.

He made his way to Miami ahead of the 2015 season and played 432 games with the Marlins. He recorded his 3,000th career MLB hit on Aug. 7, 2016, with a triple off the right-field wall against the Colorado Rockies. The Marlins released him on Nov. 3, 2017.

He ranks 21st on the MLB all-time hit list with 3,080 and could jump to as high as 15th on the list with as few as 75 hits.

This story was originally published March 5, 2018 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Ex-Marlin Ichiro is close to signing an MLB deal. Here’s where he’s likely heading."