Mariners Moose Tracks, 1/26/22: David Ortiz, Seiya Suzuki, and CBA Negotiations

Good morning everyone! Let’s get you the latest updates on the world of baseball.

In Mariners news...

• Our very own Joe Doyle spoke with Mariners Director of International Scouting Frankie Thon, Jr. about the M’s 2021 international signing class.

• There’s no time for rest when it comes to international free agents. Joe already has breaking news on the Class of 2023 (as long as they keep doing the previous year’s class in January).

• Seattle also added another player to the Class of 2021.

• Corey Brock’s latest mailbag at The Athletic tackles topics such as the players’ season-long response to Kevin Mather’s comments, the likelihood of the M’s pursuing Carlos Correa, and the organization’s top prospects. ($)

Around the league...

• David Ortiz was the lone inductee for the 2022 BBWAA Hall of Fame writers’ ballot. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, and Sammy Sosa did not make it on their 10th and final year of eligibility and will not be on ballots going forward. Ortiz is the first Hall of Famer who tested positive for steroid use.
• Major League Baseball and the MLBPA met for the second day in a row yesterday. No deal was reached, but both sides made concessions on issues that were previously thought to be dealbreakers. The two sides remain decently far apart but are now at least talking the same language.
• Things appear to be picking up between the two sides. While this is obviously good news, it’s worth remembering that nothing is likely to be finalized until the pressure of losing games pushes the two sides together.

• Matt Obernauer at Baseball America argues that culture is baseball’s next market inefficiency. ($)
• I wonder if Seiya Suzuki or the Red Sox will be hit with a fine for this, but it appears that the Japanese outfielder will not be coming to Seattle.

• It’s pretty unusual for us to get contract details on a manager, but Jon Heyman has the numbers on Buck Showalter’s deal in Queens.