MLB news

There’s zero doubt that Suzuki, arguably the top position player on the free agent market this offseason, will decline Chicago’s qualifying offer. Only 18 of 157 players to receive a qualifying offer have accepted it since the system was first implemented back in 2012. The 32-year-old corner outfielder slashed a robust .270/.368/.473 with 96 runs scored, 26 homers, 86 RBI and three steals across 545 plate appearances. He’s been a consistent power source for fantasy purposes, topping 20 homers in four of five seasons since signing with the Cubs back in 2022. It’s notable that Chicago declined to extend qualifying offers to both Ian Happ and Matthew Boyd.

It’s nothing more than a routine day of rest for the 32-year-old slugger. Suzuki has had a terrific season in the middle of the Cubs’ starting lineup, slashing .270/.368/.473 with 26 homers, 86 RBI and three stolen bases in 634 plate appearances. Michael Conforto will start in his place in right field and will bat fifth against Red Sox’ right-hander Tanner Houck.

Suzuki got the Cubs on the board and tied the score in the fifth inning with a 408-foot (106.1-mph EV) solo shot in the fifth inning. He also singled and walked in the ballgame, finishing the afternoon 2-for-3. For the season, the 32-year-old slugger is now slashing a healthy .270/.366/.476 with 26 long balls and 86 RBI.

It’s an extremely rare day off for Suzuki, who went 3-for-5 during Friday’s game against the Pirates. He’ll take a seat with Tyrone Taylor getting an opportunity to face Pirates ace Paul Skenes. The 32-year-old is on pace to finish as a top-15 fantasy outfielder, hitting .270/.369/.480 with 91 runs scored, 24 homers, 81 RBI and three steals in 578 plate appearanes.

Suzuki’s triple, his first of the year, came on a fly to deep right that saw Billy Cook struggle with the wind. Suzuki has four three-hit games and three games with three runs scored in his last 14 games, and he’s sitting at .270/.369/.480 for the season. That .849 OPS would ever so slightly best his previous high MLB marks of .848 from 2024 and .842 from 2023.

Suzuki’s home run was his 24th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Kyle Harrison in the fourth inning. Suzuki had six home runs and 19 RBI in 27 games in August. He’s hitting .278 with an .865 OPS and 80 RBI this year.

Suzuki singled in the home half of the first inning and rode home on Alex Bregman’s two-run blast. He also singled in the fourth inning before capping off the Cubs’ scoring with a 406-foot (104.4-mph EV) two-run shot off of Reds’ catcher Jose Trevino in the eighth inning. With his three-hit attack, Suzuki is now hitting .277/.370/.492 with 23 long balls and 79 RBI on the year.

Suzuki now has 23 doubles in his last 62 games after collecting just five in his first 55. He shouldn’t have much trouble clearing his MLB high of 31 from 2022 and ’24. Even in Japan, he never had more than 32 in a year.

Suzuki got a hold of a George Soriano changeup and launched it just beyond the left-center field basket in Wrigley, 390 feet away, for the only runs the Cubs would need on the day. Suzuki is hitting .310/.412/.552 over his last 15 games with three homers and one stolen base, along with 15 RBI. Hitting in a good lineup has been great for Suzuki’s counting stats this year.

The Cubs have been wanting to get Suzuki a breather for a while now, so he’ll sit down against Royals’ right-hander Randy Dobnak on Sunday afternoon. Expect to see him off the bench if needed in late-game situation though. Michael Conforto will start in his place in right field and bat fifth for the Cubs on Sunday.

Suzuki’s RBI single in the second inning drove in two runs to push the Cubs’ lead to 4-1. The right fielder has enjoyed a nice start to the month, hitting safely in six of seven games while driving in six runs over that span. He is now up to 66 RBI on the season.

Suzuki doubled in a run in the second to give the Cubs a 4-0 lead, and the outfielder singled home another to give Chicago a 9-1 cushion. The 31-year-old outfielder is now up to 60 RBI on the campaign while improving his slash to .269/.355/.477 in what could be his last campaign as a member of the Cubs. The trade talk regarding Suzuki has quieted, and he should remain a very solid fantasy option while a member of Chicago for the remainder of 2026.

Suzuki was hitless before a ninth-inning two-run homer off Mason Montgomery. It made the contest a one-run game but was ultimately too little too late. The right-handed outfielder/DH has been his usual dependable self at the plate this season and continues to bat high in the order as an everyday player on the Cubs.

Suzuki homered as the Cubs’ second batter of the game and they wouldn’t score another run for the rest of the game. Regardless, that was his 17th long ball of the season and his seventh over his last 30 games to go along with a .302/.399/.560 slash line over that same span. For all the fear about how poorly he was hitting in May, his .844 OPS is better than his career average and elite power threat we’ve come to expect over the last few seasons.

Suzuki’s home run was his 16th of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Jack Flaherty in the bottom of the third inning. Suzuki extended his hitting streak to nine games, during which he’s 13-for-34 (.382) with three home runs and eight RBI. He’s hitting .273 with an .833 OPS and 50 RBI.

Suzuki was responsible for two of the four hits the Cubs registered on a night where the offense was completely shutdown by Reds starter Hunter Greene. Suzuki doubled to kick off the start of the second inning but couldn’t come around to score after Greene locked in to retire the next three batters he faced via strikeout. Suzuki has now hit safely in three-straight games and has had at least one extra-base hit in each of those games.

So much for that slump. Suzuki had gone 1-for-19 over his last few games. He doubled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and was the only Cubs hitter to do any damage to Trevor Rogers, taking him out 432 feet to left field on a pulled liner that never felt like it was going to fall.

Suzuki is still in a 1-for-19 slump, but the one hit was big, as he took Grant Wolfram deep in the seventh. Suzuki is batting .260/.342/.449 through 325 plate appearances. If that holds up in the second half, he’ll enter free agency coming off four straight seasons with a 120 OPS+.

The Cubs scored 23 runs for the first time since 1995, and their eight homers tied a franchise record. Suzuki’s long ball came before this became a blowout, and it was the 100th of his career. He’s now the fourth Japanese-born player to hit that mark, joining Ichiro, Hideki Matsui, and Shohei Ohtani.

In a game tied 2-2, the Cubs started the bottom of the ninth with two singles before the Padres brought in Mason Miller. Alex Bregman singled to load the bases before a double play put the Padres an out away from forcing extra innings. Seiya Suzuki had other ideas as he hit a fly ball to left field that Jase Bowen couldn’t catch up against the ivy. Suzuki’s RBI single put the exclamation point on the Cubs’ walk-off win. He’s hitting.266 with a .799 OPS and 39 RBI this year.