DALLAS — Agent Joel Wolfe spoke to the media at the Winter Meetings on Tuesday and among the topics of concern were his client, Cubs right fielder/DH Seiya Suzuki. Recently, Suzuki has had his name circulated in trade rumors. Wolfe confirmed those rumors and said he’s been in recent contact with Cubs team president Jed Hoyer.
“Seiya has a full no-trade (clause),” Wolfe said. “Seiya has an open mind. Jed has been very communicative about it. I talked to him about it last night. He told me what teams he’s been talking to. I don’t think he wants to trade Seiya, but there may be a scenario where he feels like he has a deal he can’t say no to.”
Hoyer and the Cubs have been searching for ways to shake up an offense that, at the moment, looks very similar to last year’s solid if unspectacular group. Chicago’s primary focus appears to be centered on moving Cody Bellinger, a trade that has grown in likelihood over the last few days.
Trading Suzuki would come as a bit more of a surprise, though. And according to Wolfe, it isn’t something destined to happen.
“He’s talked to us about what teams Seiya would consider,” Wolfe said. “It’s a small universe where Seiya would consider going. Seiya is a very strongly opinionated guy. I could see where that might happen, but it doesn’t sound like it was necessarily likely.”
Suzuki had his best offensive season in 2024, his third in MLB, as he posted a 138 wRC+ and slugged 21 home runs, helping deliver a 3.6 WAR, according to FanGraphs. But defensively he struggled, making some key mistakes in right field. That led to Suzuki being the Cubs’ DH in 36 of his final 37 games.
“I think that if he was being posted in Japan and teams were presenting to him their opportunities and they said you can come here and be our full-time DH, I don’t think he would have signed with that team,” Wolfe said about Suzuki’s feeling on not playing in right field. “Seiya was a great defender in Japan, so it’s not a compliment being a DH.”
Some advanced metrics had Suzuki as a plus defender, including Defensive Runs Saved, but Outs Above Average painted him as a negative defender. Last season, he made three fielding errors in 615 innings after having made just three in over 1,100 innings in 2023.
Wolfe made it clear that his comments were about Suzuki’s mindset and not a criticism of manager Craig Counsell’s decision to put Suzuki at DH. When asked about the DH on Monday, Hoyer said the team’s preference was to have a rotation so they can get guys off their feet and move different players around.
Suzuki is entering the fourth year of a five-year, $85 million deal the Cubs signed him to prior to the 2022 season. He’s gotten better each year on offense, and for a team that is feeling pressure to make the postseason in 2025, losing his offensive production would likely require an impressive return along with other moves to help upgrade the team as a whole. But at the moment, both Wolfe and team sources suggest such a move seems unlikely.
(Photo of Suzuki: Rich Storry / Getty Images)
