Ichiro returns to Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are bringing back Ichiro Suzuki.

Seattle finalized a one-year deal with 44-year-old Japanese star on Wednesday after several outfielders got hurt.

Suzuki spent the first 11 major-league seasons with the Mariners, earning 2001 American League rookie of the year and MVP, winning a pair of batting titles and becoming a 10-time all-star. He was traded to the New York Yankees midway through 2012, played parts of three seasons with the Yankees, then spent three seasons with Miami.

“Somewhere deep inside,” Suzuki said. “I wanted to return and wear this uniform again.

“Seattle has always been home. It wasn’t (really) home, but it was really home to me.”

He has a .312 career average and 3,080 hits. Suzuki appeared in 136 games last year and hit .255.

Ben Gamel is sidelined for at least a month with a strained oblique muscle, Mitch Haniger is dealing with a hand injury that has limited his activity for a couple of weeks, and Guillermo Heredia is still in the final stages of recovery from off-season shoulder surgery.

Suzuki collected 2,533 hits with the Mariners, including 262 in 2004 when he set the record for hits in a season.

Rays going to use four starters: The Tampa Bay Rays intend to use a fourman rotation while filling a fifth starter’s role with a combination of multi-inning relievers this season.

Manager Kevin Cash delivered the surprising news saying the club thinks it has enough pitching depth to make the plan work long term.

“We’re going to schedule in a bullpen day as our fifth starter,” Cash said, noting the Rays will “learn a lot in the first six weeks” while determining whether it’s feasible to try to stick with a fourman rotation for an entire season.

The projected rotation currently features Chris Archer, Nathan Eovaldi, Blake Snell and Jake Faria.

The group of potential multi-inning relievers who’ll be considered for “bullpen day” roles include Matt Andriese, Yonny Chirinos and Anthony Banda.