Report: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees pursuing Seiya Suzuki

The market for Japanese infielder/outfielder Seiya Suzuki is strong, including three teams from the American League East.

The Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees have been Suzuki's most aggressive pursuers, a source told Boston Sports Journal's Sean McAdam.

Boston is intent on landing Suzuki, according to "a few people in the game," McAdam adds. The Red Sox view him as a right-field replacement for Hunter Renfroe, who the club traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on Dec. 1.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are on the hunt for additional offense after Marcus Semien departed in free agency. It's uncertain where the Yankees could deploy Suzuki, but he offers defensive versatility in the outfield and has experience playing shortstop and third base.

Suzuki is coming off a strong nine-year career overseas, where he slashed .315/.414/.570 for the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball. The 27-year-old hit .317/.433/.639 with 38 home runs, 26 doubles, and 88 RBIs in 2021.

MLB teams were allowed to bid on Suzuki until Dec. 22 after his Japanese club posted him, but the labor stoppage recently froze the process.