Last year the Mariners’ pursuit of the most talented player from Japan ended in heartbreak. This year, they flipped the script, and signed the man who preceded Shohei Ohtani at the same high school - LHP Yusei Kikuchi.
Kikuchi: 4 years guaranteed. 14M year aav. Opt out after 3 years at 43M. club can extend to 109M/7. If club doesn’t elect on 4 year extension at 16.5M per player has option for additional year at 13M. #mariners
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 1, 2019
That deal is confusing, and of course it is portrayed unclearly by Jon Heyman, so here is the actual breakdown.