MLB Rumors: Unexpected Player Had A Hand In Seiya Suzuki Landing With Cubs

The San Diego Padres were hot in pursuit of Japanese superstar Seiya Suzuki, right up to the last minute. And although it might sound a little counterintuitive, according to a report, the Padres' own Japanese player Yu Darvish actually contributed to Suzuki landing in Chicago with the Cubs. 

MLB Insider Jon Heyman writes in the New York Post that "Yu Darvish highly recommended (the Cubs) to Suzuki." Considering the Padres badly wanted the Nippon League batting champion, it sounds like a strange way for things to play out. 

The Padres, in fact, for a few short hours, were thought to have won the Suzuki Sweepstakes when several Japanese media outlets reported that he'd chosen San Diego. That turned out to be erroneous, of course, as it was announced a day later that he was going to the Windy City, on a 5-year, $85M contract. 

Only a couple of days before, Darvish had confused matters even more by posting a picture of himself with Suzuki, together, with the caption "New Padre?"

New Padre😜? pic.twitter.com/osG8W9SlIW

— ダルビッシュ有(Yu Darvish) (@faridyu) March 12, 2022

This turned out to be a smokescreen, as Suzuki was obviously being given glowing reviews by Darvish about his former team, the Chicago Cubs. Darvish pitched for the Cubs from 2018 through 2020, and obviously enjoyed his time there, enough to convince his friend Suzuki to sign there. 

How Padres fans will feel about this is certainly a question, as Suzuki has started his major league career in the same superstar fashion he displayed in Japan. 

Photo Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports