Ichiro has given Seattle fans 10 straight Gold Gloves, several Silver Slugger awards, one MVP and countless clutch hits and great throws from the outfield. Now it's time for him to give Seattle one last assist; a chance at success in the future.
So who are the potential suitors for Ichiro?
The list can be narrowed down to teams who have pitching, but lack offense, are an Ichiro away from playoff success and have farm systems with players to trade.
A quick look around the league reveals a few teams who fit this description:
Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and San Fransisco.
Each team has something different to offer. Sometimes trades are built around a package of young players, while others focus on one upper level prospect.
Tampa Bay has one of the strongest farm systems in baseball right now. They also happen to be leading the AL East at the moment with a solid pitching staff and an average, at best, offense. Trading for Ichiro would add to a young core of already productive players who can compete for the next several years.
Among their young prospects, Desmond Jennings has been tabbed as the heir apparent to Carl Crawford. The Rays also boast a stable of arms as well as young Korean short stop Hak-Ju Lee. Moving Ichiro for either Jennings or a package of Lee and other arms, would help build Seattle's farm system at positions they are currently thin at.
The Phillies have a rotation for the ages, but the top of their lineup struggles with Jimmy Rollins aging and Chase Utley hurting. Philadelphia is also hurting in the outfield, a position they hope Domonic Brown will solidify as soon as he heals from an injury. However, after going all in with the Cliff Lee signing this off season, counting on a young prospect to solidify your outfield is not the wisest plan.
Adding Ichiro gives them an immediate sure fire all-star both offensively and defensively, whereas Brown would be given time in Seattle to grow into his role as a star. Brown is one of baseball's top overall prospects, but like San Francisco, Philadelphia's window is now.Atlanta is another team with solid starting pitching, but struggles to score runs. No they are not going to trade Jason Heyward for Ichiro, but they have a slew of young arms they could offer in exchange for Ichiro's services.
Finally, San Francisco has a youthful rotation and is in their window of success, so the time is now for the Giants to part with prospects in exchange for a player who fits nicely as both a leadoff hitter and defensive stalwart in right field.
The Giants aren't loaded with top prospects, but have a lot of young talent already producing in the majors and might be willing to trade part of their future for a chance at a three to four year run of winning multiple titles. A trade with the Giants would be built around a combination of young players rather than one top prospect.
In trading for Ichiro, teams are acquiring a player whose main assests, speed and contact hitting, are two skills which age well in baseball. Ichiro also takes immaculate care of his body, so despite his age, a team would be getting a player who will contribute for more than just one run at a championship.
Seattle is in full rebuilding mode and should be building towards the 2013-2014 seasons. To do that, the team must continue to stock it's farm system. Ichiro can help the Mariners do that through a trade which will bring Seattle several prospects to place around a young core of Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda, Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley.
In past years, the Mariners were on the edge of competing, or so they thought, and keeping Ichiro made sense. Off the field, it made even more sense given the team's large Japanese fan base. However, the time has come to let go of the teams best player of the past decade, and prepare for the next.
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