Marlins Morning News: Ichiro says he wants to play until he’s 50

Marlins News:

Ichiro! is still succeeding even at age 43, which makes this statement by the outfielder not so unrealistic. Ichiro said he wants to play until he’s 50, which means he’d be playing seven more years before reaching that age. Considering Ichiro! has gotten this far, it would be crazy to doubt him in his quest to play at least seven more years.

After a strong performance in the 2016 season and the World Baseball Classic, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says Christian Yelich could become the third Marlin ever to win a batting title. Yelich batted .298 last season. The last Marlin to win the batting title, Dee Gordon, hit .333 when he took the title home in 2015.

After an inconsistent first season with Miami, pitcher Wei-Yin Chen is looking to have a more productive year this season. Chen compiled a career-worst ERA of 4.96 last season. Chen was never able to give the Marlins full production after his elbow took a hit in his first start.

Bleacher Report ranked who they thought were the 30 best relief pitchers in the MLB. The Marlins had three pitchers make the list, including closer A.J. Ramos.

One of Miami’s offseason acquisitions, pitcher Dan Straily, performed very well in spring training. In his last start, he struck out four and didn’t allow a walk. Straily is expected to start for the Marlins on April 5 against Washington. If he performs like he did last season and in spring training, Miami could have a potential steal on their hands.

Around the League:

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Cardinals have signed catcher Yadier Molina to a new three-year deal worth $55 million. Molina had set Opening Day as the deadline for an extension. Molina would’ve been a free agent after this season.

Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor signed a six-year deal worth $49.5 million with Texas on Thursday. With his contract, Odor will also receive two horses. Odor raises horses in his spare time.

The Oakland Athletics have announced that former slugger Jose Canseco will be a pre and postgame analyst for NBC Sports California. Canseco hit 462 homers in 17 MLB seasons, but he admitted to using steroids.

Bleacher Report ranked the 25 best players of all-time. They developed a whole system to determine the rankings, including whether or not steroid users are eligible to be on the list.

Despite dealing with calf soreness for some time, Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is expected to be ready for Opening Day. The 19-year veteran only got 27 at-bats this spring.