It was the signing few, if any, saw happening. Pitchers and catchers would report in less than two weeks, and Jerry Dipoto had even already said “this is our team” once earlier in the offseason—albeit, before the surprise Hisashi Iwakuma signing. So if there’d be one signing out of nowhere, why not two?
Early in the morning on February 3rd, news started to break that the Mariners had signed Dae-Ho Lee. Then it became official, and fans were left scrambling to find out the backstory. For those who haven’t, we’ll fill it in.
Lee, a 33-year-old slugging first baseman, had reached the pinnacle of the profession on the other side of the Pacific, playing in South Korea and then Japan.