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Ichiro Suzuki re-signs with Marlins, continues pursuit of 3,000 MLB hits

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Ichiro Suzuki's quest to reach 3,000 hits in Major League Baseball will continue in 2016.

The future Hall of Famer, legendary hitting aficionado, and occasional relief ace, re-signed with the Miami Marlins on Tuesday. According to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, Ichiro will receive $2 million in 2016, and the Marlins will also hold a $2-million option for 2017 season.

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Ichiro, who turns 42 on Oct. 22, will be entering his 16th big league season — his second with the Marlins — just 65 hits shy of 3,000. Between Japan and MLB, Ichiro has collected a total of 4,213 professional hits, which ranks second all-time to Pete Rose's 4,256. He'll return to Miami in the same outfield reserve role he occupied in 2015, but that should still give him a fair shot at reaching one or both of those milestones.

Worth noting, Ichiro actually led the Marlins in games played this season at 153, while racking up 438 plate appearances. Much of Ichrio's extra playing time was attirubted to Giancarlo Stanton's season-ending hand injury and Marcell Ozuna's surprising demotion to Triple-A. With both expected back full-time next season, Ichiro's playing time will inevitably decline, but his role with the team appeared to be cemented.

Now, we address the elephant in the room. Ichiro simply wasn't a good player in 2015.

In his semi-regular role, he batted .229/.282/.279 with one home run and 11 stolen bases. Yes, his on-base percentage was actually higher than his slugging percentage. Of his 91 hits, only 12 went for extra bases. There's very little pop left in his bat, but he still gets the ball in play with enough regularity to give himself a chance. 

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A renaissance in 2016 is not likely, though marginal improvement is at least possible. Guys like Ichiro will be able to compete against major-league pitching for as long as they can swing the bat, but his days of making an impact are probably over. The Marlins understand that too, but they likely see the value in Ichiro chasing 3,000 hits. It'll be a big story that should create desperately needed buzz around the franchise coming off another disappointing and chaotic season. 

Perhaps its a ceremonial re-signing more than anything. Perhaps the Marlins also see value in keeping Ichiro around the clubhouse. Regardless, he's back, and we'll all be watching as he looks to further cement an already incredible legacy.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!