Will Ichiro stay or go?

Ichiro says that he may sign free agency for the first time in his life. Will he stay or go? If you think he will leave, what team? Yanks?

He will definitely leave, as the Mariners are not in the kind of market to afford his salary and the philosophy of their organization is not to give one player such a large percentage of their payroll.

As is the case with most high priced free agents, only about 4-5 teams could afford him--the Yanks, Red Sox, and Mets immediately come to mind.

One logical choice would be the Giants, as they will have a lot of money freed up as Bonds won't come back next year and with the Asian population in the Bay area, that would be a perfect fit.

If he does declare free agency, there will only be a few teams that can compete for his services. The Yankees are probably at the top of the list when it comes to teams that can afford to sign a free agent in his price range. It's not automatic that he'll go to the Yankees though. The Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox, and a few others still stand a chance.
Since the Mariners are not willing to negotiate a contract with Ichiro before the season ends, I think he will declare for free agency. The Mariners could have extended his contract a year or so ago, but their track record is to let free agents walk. Look at Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., and A-Rod. Ichiro will look around and take a good offer. I think he will choose between Boston (because Dice-K is there) and the Yankees (Matsui and $).
He will stay. The Mariners will pay him too much to leave--he's the best hitter and second- or (at the very least) third-best player they've ever had. . . .
I think he'd like to stay but he's going to want what he's worth so Seattle might not want to pay that.
I'm not sure if the Yankees will even want him, sure he's good right now but the Yankees have been burned by long contracts and aging superstars quite a lot in the last few years.
The Mets will sign Ichiro this off season.
He will go and get shipped back to Kazackstan. He he thinks he's better than the whole city of Cleveland then he can go to where no one cares about him.

Tags

Boxing Basketball Baseball Formula One Indy Racing League (IRL) NASCAR General - Auto Racing

Related information

Who will have the best second half in the Mlb?

Do you think the fans should vote who is in the homerun derby and could it someone who is not a all star?

When is the Home Run Derby?

What do you think of Jason Bartlett?

Is Mark Mulder ever going to play again!?

Does anyone know of a Senators baseball team that wore orange and black?

Why not a retractable dome on the new Yankee Stadium?

Can I make it to the major leagues?