UPDATE: Here are the reported details of the contract:
Iwakuma gets $1M sign bonus, $10M 2016 salary plus $1M buyout on club options in '17 and '18. $12M guaranteed. #mariners
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 18, 2015
Sources: Iwakuma can earn nearly $45M with #Mariners - close to #Dodgers' proposed guarantee - if both options vest. Full no-trade clause.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 18, 2015
Iwakuma has club options for 10M but '17 option vests at 14M with 162 IP in '16 and at $15M in '18 at 162 IP in '17 or 324 in 16-17
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 18, 2015
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At the beginning of the offseason Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said re-signing starter Hisashi Iwakuma was one of the team's top priorities. He fulfilled that priority on Thursday night.
Dipoto made the announcement last night at the Mariners holiday party. Financial terms of the deal have not yet been released, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com, but it's likely a multi-year pact considering the veteran rejected the team's one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer.
Jerry Dipoto delivers a special gift to the front office at the #Mariners holiday party: Kuma is back. pic.twitter.com/8Bo8Y93ub2
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) December 18, 2015
Iwakuma had agreed to a three-year, $45 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers just before the MLB Winter Meetings, but there was something the Dodgers didn't like about the right-hander's medical records, as was reported this week. The issue at hand has not been disclosed, but the Dodgers were making an attempt to re-work the deal to perhaps give Iwakuma less money and/or fewer years.
This is yet another obstacle in the Dodgers' nightmare of an offseason.
Last night ESPN's Jim Bowden reported the Mariners were again pursuing Iwakuma.
"Obviously, the developments from the last few days allowed us to get back in the game," said Dipoto in the press release announcing the move. "It's a credit to our ownership; to Howard Lincoln, to Kevin Mather, to our entire ownership group that we were able to get aggressive and find a way to bring Kuma back to the Mariners. We're all thrilled. This is a big move for us. We feel like this really puts a finishing touch on what we think has been a very productive off-season."
Iwakuma, 34, spent his only four MLB seasons with the Mariners. Over that span he's 47-25 with a 3.17 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 551 strikeouts in 111 games (97 starts), totaling 653 2/3 innings. In 2015 he went 9-5 with a 3.54 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 111 strikeouts in 20 starts (129 2/3 innings) and tossed a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles.
Stay tuned for updates on the terms of the contract.
