M’s pitcher Iwakuma on verge of guaranteeing 2017 contract

Published 7:00 pm Tuesday, August 23, 2016

SEATTLE — Seattle Mariners right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma is about to cash his Christmas bonus.

Iwakuma needs to pitch just five innings Wednesday — or at any point through the remainder of the season — to lock in a $14 million vesting guarantee for next season.

Under Iwakuma’s contract, signed last Dec. 18, the Mariners hold a $10 million option for next season (with a $500,000 buyout), but that shifts to a guaranteed contract for $14 million if he pitches 162 innings.

Iwakuma enters Wednesday’s start against the Yankees at 157 innings.

“I don’t know where we’d be without him,” manager Scott Servais said. “You look at it, you see it and you’re watching it and you think, ‘How is he doing it?’ But he pitches. He really pitches. It’s the curve. It’s the slider. It’s the split.

“If you look at any one of his four pitches in a vacuum, they’re probably average. But when you put them all together, with his deception and his ability to make pitches, it plays up.”

Iwakuma is 14-8 with a 3.78 ERA in 25 starts. He leads the Mariners in victories, starts, innings and strikeouts. His steady presence allowed the club to weather injuries to every other member of the season-opening rotation.

“That’s part of my job,” he said in early July with Felix Hernandez on the disabled list. “I’m the No. 2 guy. With the King out, we have to stay patient and step up until he comes back.

“When he comes back, I know it’s going to be a lot easier for us.”

The Mariners appeared to lose Iwakuma last December when he agreed to a free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $45 million. The Mariners roughly matched the financial package but weren’t willing to guarantee a third year.

When the Dodgers backed away from their agreement after examining the results of Iwakuma’s physical examination — for reasons that still aren’t clear — Iwakuma and the Mariners resumed negotiations.

General manager Jerry Dipoto announced the deal at the club’s Christmas party. It only guaranteed one year but included club options for two additional years that could turn into guarantees based on performance.

The total package had the potential to exceed the Dodgers’ guarantee and, at that point, Iwakuma was willing to bet on himself.

“I feel very confident,” he said in December. “This is the place that I’ve been able to pitch for the last four years. Obviously, I’m going to take one year at a time and let the rest take care of itself.”

Iwakuma has already triggered a $500,000 performance bonus this season to his $12 million guaranteed deal by reaching 150 innings. He gets another $500,000 each if he reaches 160, 170, 180 and 190 innings.

All are within reach.

The third year in the contract, 2018, becomes guaranteed if Iwakuma pitches 162 innings next season or reaches a 2016-17 total of 324 innings. Right now, that seems a good bet.

Two other free-agent signings, outfielder Nori Aoki and catcher Chris Iannetta, face bigger challenges to trigger their contract clauses with, entering Tuesday, 38 games remaining in the season.

Aoki can trigger a vesting option next season for $5.5 million by reaching 480 plate appearances. Through Monday, he had 379.

Iannetta can convert a $4.25 million club option for next year into a guaranteed deal by starting 100 games. He is currently at 79 but has started only 10 times since the Mariners recalled Mike Zunino on July 20 from Triple-A Tacoma.