Free agent right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma signed an incentive-laced, one-year contract with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, a year after his attempted move to the majors through the posting system ended in failure.
According to a source with knowledge of the negotiations, the 30-year-old Iwakuma will receive a base salary of $1.5 million plus performance bonuses that would make the deal worth well over $3.9 million, or ¥300 million — the amount he made with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles last season.
Iwakuma, who was the Pacific League MVP and won the Sawamura Award after winning 21 games in 2008, was put up for bidding last offseason. The Oakland Athletics won his negotiating rights, but the two parties could not come to terms during the exclusive 30-day negotiating period.