Los Angeles (AFP) - Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who helped his country win Olympic gold last year, has agreed to a Major League Baseball deal with the Chicago Cubs, according to multiple reports Wednesday.
The 27-year-old slugger, who has played for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp since 2013, reached agreement on a five-year deal worth a reported $85 million, according to ESPN, The Athletic and the MLB website.
The deal also includes a posting fee to the Carp, which, under reported terms of the contract, would be $14.625 million.
The salary would be the largest for any non-pitcher from Japan and trail only the $155 million deal signed by pitcher Masahiro Tanaka with the New York Yankees in 2014.
Suzuki batted .317 for the Carp last season with 38 home runs, 26 doubles, 88 runs batted in and was walked 87 times while striking out 88.
He has a .315 career average in Japan with 182 homers and 562 runs batted in.Over the past four seasons, Suzuki hit .319 with 122 homers.
In addition to an outfielder role, Suzuki could be in position to be the Cubs' designated hitter as the new MLB deal with the players union stops pitchers from batting in National League games, as they had even after American League clubs replaced them at the plate with designated hitters.
The Cubs missed the playoffs last year for only the second time in seven seasons with a 71-91 record, their worst campaign since 2013.
