The Seattle Mariners ended up sending beloved outfielder Ichiro Suzuki to the New York Yankees, but the club had plenty of other discussions with various teams around the league. According to a tweet from Buster Olney of ESPN, the Giants and White Sox were both deep in discussion with the Mariners to acquire Ichiro.
Before the Mariners traded Ichiro to the Yankees, they had been deep in talks with the Giants and White Sox.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 28, 2012
The final hurdle likely had to do with money and need. The Giants don't really have a need for another outfielder capable of starting, while the White Sox couldn't afford to take on too much payroll with hopes to acquire a front-end starting pitcher.
Ichiro appears happy in New York and the Mariners did themselves a favor by letting him go. For as much as he's done for the franchise over the years, it was simply time to go in a different direction in Seattle.
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