Mariners may get another shot to bring back Hisashi Iwakuma
Dec 17, 2015, 12:51 PM | Updated: 12:53 pm
Hisashi Iwakuma's reported three-year, $45 million deal with the Dodgers is apparently dead. (AP)
(AP)
BY
Seattle Sports
Don’t count the Mariners out of the Hisashi Iwakuma sweepstakes just yet.
Eleven days after Iwakuma was reported to have agreed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a three-year, $45 million contract, that deal is apparently dead after he failed a physical according to a Thursday report from Japan’s Asahi Degital.
While a failed physical doesn’t rule out Iwakuma joining the Dodgers on a reworked deal, it could open the door for the Mariners to re-open negotiations with the 34-year-old right-hander. Seattle was reported to have offered Iwakuma a two-year contract but was not interested in a third guaranteed year for the four-year MLB veteran.
Iwakuma has a spotty history of health, having missed significant time in 2015 with a lat injury and 2014 with a finger issue. Despite his problems staying on the field, he was a strong No. 2 starter for the Mariners over the past three seasons. He was a Cy Young Award contender in 2013 with a 14-6 record, 2.66 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, and he followed up by going 15-9 with a 3.52 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 2014 then 9-5 with a 3.54 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 2015. He also threw a no-hitter for Seattle on Aug. 12 against the Baltimore Orioles.
