The Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees executed a shocking trade earlier this week that sent Ichiro Suzuki to the Bronx Bombers. Today they elucidated on the thought process behind the trade and what ended up making it happen.
Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews files this report that had Yankees general manager Brian Cashman breaking down this trade on 660 WFAN in New York, and Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik talked about the deal on 710 ESPN in Seattle.
Cashman discussed about the hopes of Yankees fans everywhere that Ichiro would find the rejuvenation machine upon his arrival in New York, as Suzuki's production has dipped the past couple of seasons.
Is Ichiro Suzuki rejuvenated at having a chance to win a World Series?
"Well that’s certainly our hope. We really weren’t out in the market place looking for things. This team has showed it has some depth. A lot of the guys have really stepped up and done a great job. I’m hesitant and resistant to try to move anything out of our system. When Brett Gardner didn’t come back and needed surgery…he’s 0-for-3 on rehab. Surgery is now the case, so here this week Randy Levine had a conversation with Chuck Armstrong. This started above the general manager’s and I was unaware until the press conference that Ichiro Suzuki asked for a trade, but that’s clearly why Chuck Armstrong had reached out to Randy Levine and then Randy carried the message. He said ‘Hey look what about this guy?’ "
As for Zduriencik, he talked about how the deal ended up happening.
How did this deal for Ichiro Suzuki come together?
"Well it’s been a couple of weeks where Chuck [Armstrong] has had dialogue with Tony Attanasio [Ichiro Suzuki's Agent] and through the course of discussions Ichiro said that he would like to be traded to a club that was in contention. He felt it was in the best interest of the organization and for him to do this. That’s how the whole thing started and as a result this is where we are at. We ended up consummating a deal yesterday."
You can listen to the audio of Cashman on 660 WFAN here, and the Zduriencik on 710 ESPN here.
Talk about the Ichiro deal with Mariners fans at Lookout Landing and with Yankees fans at Pinstripe Alley.
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