Mariners agree to deal with Korean Dae-ho Lee
The Seattle Mariners' busy offseason continued on Wednesday, and this time the club branched out to the international market to nab an attractive free agent.
Seattle has reached an agreement with Korean-born first baseman Dae-ho Lee.
The 33-year-old will reportedly undergo a physical on Thursday, and because he's a free agent, will not be attached to a posting fee.
"All baseball players dream of playing in the majors," Lee explained before the deal was announced, "and I'd like to pursue that dream. If I can give 100 percent, like I've done throughout my career, I don't think it will be impossible."
The slugger, who is expected to battle with Jesus Montero and Gaby Sanchez as the right-handed complement to Adam Lind, had a big 2015 campaign for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in Japan. He hit .282/.368/.524 with 31 home runs and 98 RBIs.
Lee has swatted 323 long balls in his 15-year career split between Korea and Japan.