Future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki is moving from the diamond to the Seattle Mariners front office.
The team announced Thursday Ichiro will become Special Assistant to the Chairman. The move will preclude the 10-time All-Star from playing on the field for the rest of the season, but the statement from the team did not say he is retiring as a player.
In describing the new role, the Mariners said, "Ichiro will work in collaboration with the Mariners Major League Staff, High Performance Staff and Front Office personnel. He will assist, based on his experience, with outfield play, baserunning and hitting. And he will provide mentorship to both players and staff."
"We want to make sure we capture all of the value that Ichiro brings to this team off the field," said Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto in a statement. "This new role is a way to accomplish that. While it will evolve over time, the key is that Ichiro's presence in our clubhouse and with our players and staff improves our opportunity to win games. That is our number-one priority and Ichiro's number-one priority."
The Mariners say this change only covers 2018, but the club wants to find a way to keep him on board for the long-term.
Ichiro, 44, was signed to a one-year contract this offseason but was mainly seen as an injury replacement who was not expected to see a lot of playing time. He was batting .205 in 15 games this season.
Ichiro is 21st in Major League History with 3,089 career hits, including 2,542 as a Mariner. If you add his nine years in Japan, he has 4,367 professional hits. He is one of only seven players to have at least 3,000 hits and at least 500 stolen bases in the major leagues.
