Reports: Hisashi Iwakuma not returning to Mariners, agrees with Dodgers
Dec 6, 2015, 5:06 PM | Updated: Dec 7, 2015, 10:28 am
(AP)
Free-agent pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma has agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, ruling out a return to the Mariners, according to ESPN’s Jim Bowden and CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman.
Iwakuma has agreed with Dodgers
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowden_ESPN) December 7, 2015
Dodgers have a deal with iwakuma. Believed to be for 3 years.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 7, 2015
Heyman reports the deal is for $45 million over three years. Los Angeles turned its attention to the 34-year-old veteran right-hander after its own No. 2 starter, Zack Greinke, signed a six-year, $206 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.
Iwakuma finished 2015 at 9-5 with a 3.54 ERA and 1.06 WHIP despite a prolonged disabled list stint due to a strained lat. He provided perhaps the highlight of the Mariners’ season by throwing a no-hitter at Safeco Field on Aug. 12 against the Baltimore Orioles.
The loss of Iwakuma would force the Mariners and general manager Jerry Dipoto into a Plan B in terms of adding to their rotation, as Shannon Drayer wrote about Sunday.
Since joining Seattle as a free agent out of Japan in 2012, Iwakuma has gone 47-25 with a 3.17 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 111 games (97 starts). His best year came in 2013 when he was 14-6 with a 2.66 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, earning All-Star honors and finishing third in the American League Cy Young Award race.