Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Ichiro Suzuki has started to let it be known that he would like to return to New York for the 2013 season. Citing a source close to the 39-year-old outfielder, Sherman stated that Ichiro “strongly wants to stay with the Yankees because he so enjoyed playing in a professional, winning atmosphere with so many contemporaries near his age range.”
According to Sherman’s source, Ichiro likely would ensure that money would not be a factor if he were to remain in New York. The numbers put forth by Sherman indicate that Ichiro would look for $5 – $8 million for 2013, with a potential option for 2014. This could help the Yankees’ efforts to bring their payroll down to $189 million by the start of the 2014 season.
Brian Cashman deflected the idea of re-signing Ichiro for the time being, stating, “We haven’t had our pro scouting meetings yet, when we do we will rank the available players and we will see where [Ichiro] ranks and how it fits once everyone starts engaging the market [in trades and free agency].”
