Ichiro Suzuki: Could finish career in Japan

Suzuki's agent, John Boggs, indicated Tuesday that his client could finish his career in Japan if he's unable to attract interest at the MLB level, Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com reports.

Boggs said that he has held extensive conversations with the Mariners and Padres during the offseason about signing Suzuki, but with those talks having since stalled out, it's looking unlikely that the 44-year-old outfielder will be signed before spring training gets underway in February. Though he's turned in a Hall-of-Fame career since arriving in North America in 2001, Suzuki no longer looks like an overly appealing fourth or fifth outfielder and pinch-hitting option at this point, given his paucity of pop and the sharp decline he noticed with his baserunning and contact skills last season with the Marlins. Suzuki has previously stated that he intends to keep playing professional baseball until he turns 50, but a return to Japan may be the only way he's able to meet that goal.