What Does the MLB Lockout Mean for Seiya Suzuki?

How does the MLB lockout impact Seiya Suzuki's offseason plans?

Kyodo News/Sipa USA

A few months ago, rumors started to spread that the Japanese phenom Seiya Suzuki was planning to be posted by the Hiroshima Carps.

These rumors became true when Suzuki was in fact posted by his parent club on November, 22, starting the 30-day window for Suzuki to be signed. However, Suzuki's offseason plans changed 10 days later when the MLB and the MLBPA failed to reach an agreement regarding a new collective bargaining agreement.

Luckily for Suzuki, as he was only 10 days into his window when the lockout started, there is nothing pointing towards the notion that he won't receive the additional 20 days when the lockout ends.

This should be music to the ears of the multiple teams that are interested in Suzuki, according to Audacy Sports' Tim Kelly, the San Francisco Giants have shown interest but will more than likely limit their spending to $100 million. 

However San Francisco hasn't been the only place that Suzuki has been linked to, Suzuki has apparently met with Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

Dipoto went as far as to say "I don't know where that will lead. But I can tell you, we're interested. He's a great player."

GM Jerry Dipoto confirms to @ByTimBooth @StoneLarry and others that they had a meeting with Seiya Suzuki via Zoom.

Dipoto: "I don't know where that will lead. But I can tell you, we're interested. He's a great player."

— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) December 1, 2021

Historically, Seattle has always had an interest in Japanese baseball players, but they've had even better luck when it comes to landing said Japanese players with the most famous of them being Ichiro Suzuki.

As for now, Suzuki and the rest of the league will have to wait for the lockout to end before any final moves can be made.

More From SI's Inside The Phillies:

• How The Pre-Lockout Spending Spree Could Impact Negotiations
• MLB and MLBPA Unlikely to Meet on Big Items Until January
• Predicting the NL East Following Historic Spending Spree

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