Baseball: Yusei Kikuchi declines 2022 player option, to test free agency

Yusei Kikuchi and the Seattle Mariners will part ways after the left-handed pitcher declined his one-year, $13 million player option to become a free agent, the team said Wednesday.The 30-year-old Japanese had a contract that included both the player option and a series of four one-year team options from 2022 to 2025 valued at $66 million. He chose to test free agency after the team declined to exercise its option.Kikuchi joined the Mariners in 2019 following a stellar eight-year career in Japan with the Seibu Lions but he struggled to reach similar heights in Seattle. He went 15-24 with a …READ FULL ARTICLE