Right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma finished his first season in Major League Baseball Tuesday with another strong outing and finished the year with a 2.65 ERA in 16 starts. The 31-year-old right-hander is now set up to cash in via free agency.
He was noncommittal after that start, writes MLB.com's Greg Johns, but theSeattle Mariners are almost certain to have strong interest in bringing him back. General manager Jack Zduriencik may have to choose between Iwakuma and the arbitration-eligible Jason Vargas, who could make more than $8 million next season.
The Mariners do have payroll space with which to tinker their roster, especially since Ichiro Suzuki's contract is now off the books. Despite the expectation that most of the club's financial flexibility will be spent on offense, I contend they'll trade for offense and pay to shore up the starting rotation.
Iwakuma is no slam dunk to return, however. He proved his shoulder is healthy -- one of the concerns over the past two years when he posted in 2010 and hit the open market last winter -- and his success in the states is now somewhat tangible.
The A's won the bid on him two winters ago, but don't figure to be a club with strong interest this time around as their roster is littered with young starting pitching.
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