The Seattle Mariners clearly aren’t rushing to bring back Eugenio Suarez in free agency, but there’s a wild stat making the rounds that might change their thinking.
It’s about Ichiro Suzuki. And it’s pretty eye-opening.
The stat surfaced on X Friday and it’s getting attention:
- Ichiro’s 2001 MVP season: 126 OPS+
- Suarez’s 2024 season: 126 OPS+
For context, OPS+ adjusts for era and ballpark effects, with 100 being league average. So both players produced identical offensive value by this measure.
Think about that. Suarez’s 49-homer campaign matched the offensive production of Ichiro’s legendary rookie year – you know, the one where he hit .350 with 242 hits and took home both Rookie of the Year and MVP honors.
Now, there’s obviously more to the story. Ichiro was elite defensively and on the basepaths, elements that don’t show up in OPS+. He was a complete player in ways Suarez isn’t.
But it’s still fascinating.
Some folks will point to this as proof that OPS+ has its limitations – how can a slugger’s season really compare to one of the greatest contact hitting displays we’ve ever seen?
Others might argue it shows Suarez remains a quality player worth keeping around. Offense is offense, whether it comes from singles or home runs.
The complication for Seattle is how Suarez performed after they acquired him. He was mashing for Arizona before the trade deadline – that’s where most of his value came from. His second half in a Mariners uniform wasn’t nearly as impressive.
That split probably explains why they’re not exactly breaking down his door with contract offers. If you’re paying for the full package, you want to believe you’re getting the first-half version, not the guy who struggled after the trade.
Then again, maybe they don’t need to worry about replacing Suarez’s production at all. Ichiro’s still hanging around the organization these days.
Wonder if he’s got another season left in him.
