Hisashi Iwakuma rejects qualifying offer from Mariners

As expected, Hisashi Iwakuma has rejected the Mariners’ $15.8 million qualifying offer and is now a free agent eligible to sign with any team.

General manager Jerry Dipoto has called bringing back Iwakuma a priority, but the Mariners will have competition in signing him. The Tigers are one team that has expressed interest in Iwakuma, who is reported to be looking for a three-year deal.

Iwakuma has gone 47-25 with a 3.17 ERA in his four seasons with the Mariners. He finished third in the Cy Young Award voting in 2013, when he pitched a career-high 219.2 innings, but was limited to 28 starts in 2014 and 20 in 2015 because of injuries.

If Iwakuma signs with another team, the Mariners will be awarded a compensatory pick that falls between the first and second rounds of the 2016 draft. The signing team will be required to surrender its first-round pick unless that team holds a top-10 pick. In that case, the signing team would give up its second-round pick.

While declining to talk about any negotiations, Iwakuma made it clear in the final month of the season that he enjoyed pitching for the Mariners and that his family was very comfortable living in Seattle. These factors played into Iwakuma signing his last contract – a two-year deal with an option which he signed on Nov. 2, 2012 – and no doubt will count for something now as well.

But the fact that we are well past the beginning of November and Iwakuma is listening to other teams makes this very different from the 2012 negotiations. By extending the qualifying offer, however, the Mariners have made it a bit more difficult for another team to sign him as the draft pick that team would have to surrender will factor into determining the value it places on Iwakuma.

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