The Cubs have agreed to a five-year, $85 million contract with Seiya Suzuki, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.
The source said Suzuki met with the Cubs front office and team chairman on Monday night before agreeing to the deal.
It is the highest salary for a Japanese position player coming to Major League Baseball and the second largest behind the New York Yankees contract with Masahiro Tanaka.
Suzuki played nine seasons for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the Japanese Professional Baseball League. He hit.319 with 38 homers and 88 runs in 2021, and has a career average of 182 homers and 552 runs.
Cubs manager David Ross said before the deal was officially announced that the player has a unique skill set that has value in MLB. The fact that our name is at the top of the rumor mill is exciting.
We are going to add as much talent as we possibly can because that is what winning organizations do.
The financial terms of Suzuki's deal were reported by The Athletic.
Suzuki is a four-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove winner. He won the home run derby in Japan.
The bidding for his services had been paused because his rights were originally posted by Hiroshima.
Suzuki plays right field, a position five-time Gold Glove winner Heyward has manned for the Cubs since signing a $184 million, eight-year contract before the 2016 World Series championship season.
Brennen Davis is one of the prized prospects in the Cubs' system. Ross can use the designated hitter in the National League.
The Cubs missed the playoffs for the second time in three years after finishing fourth in the NL Central in 2021. The team went into a slump after a strong start after they traded Yu Darvish to the Padres.
This report used information from Jesse Rogers and The Associated Press.
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