Free agent outfielder Seiya Suzuki is one of a few possible targets that the Colorado Rockies have for addressing their offensive needs in the outfield. But, as Rox Pile’s Kevin Henry noted in this article this past weekend, the Rockies are not considered to be a favorite for the Japanese import.
After seeing Sunday night’s two developments with Suzuki, it is easy to see why.
Seiya Suzuki showed twice that he is unlikely to sign with the Colorado Rockies
Two developments late on Sunday night further indicated that Seiya Suzuki will not be signing with the Colorado Rockies.
First of all, Suzuki tweeted himself that he spent time with former Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado. He trained at his facility in Los Angeles and he also thanked Nolan’s brother, Jonah, for his hospitality as well.
Had the opportunity to workout at Nolan Arenado’s facility in LA. It was an amazing facility and I was able to get in a great training session. I would like to thank Nolan’s brother Jonah for his great hospitality and everyone who has supported me throughout this process. pic.twitter.com/eEMcCvwgjh
— 【公式】鈴木誠也(Seiya Suzuki)#27 (@suzuki_seiya_sb) March 14, 2022
Arenado, of course, was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals last offseason and left the team on a sour note. One year before he was traded to the Cardinals, Arenado said that he thought that there was “a lot of disrespect” coming from the Rockies front office (largely from then-GM Jeff Bridich) towards him. So if the Rockies were even brought up, Arenado probably didn’t give a glowing review to Suzuki.
Furthermore, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported an hour later that Suzuki spent time with San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish, who has the same agent as Suzuki. Lin also reports that Suzuki trained for the Padres at Petco Park this weekend.
Seiya Suzuki visited with Yu Darvish and his family before the pitcher left for Arizona. (The two share an agent.) Suzuki also worked out for the Padres at Petco Park over the weekend, sources tell @TheAthletic. The rest of his travel itinerary is not known.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) March 14, 2022
With those two events happening this weekend, it further shows that Suzuki is highly unlikely to sign with the Rockies.
As Henry noted in the article mentioned above, the Rockies are most interested in Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant, and Michael Conforto for the outfield spots so if they sign one (or more) of them, it will be fine if the Rockies aren’t in on Suzuki but they have to get an outfielder to address their offseason.
They have shown that will sign outside players as they addressed their shortstop need (albeit, not with a player to the caliber of Trevor Story) and the backend of the bullpen but they still have to do more to improve themselves in the 2022 season.