San Francisco Giants to Sign Nori Aoki
Looking to shore up their outfield, the San Francisco Giants have reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with Nori Aoki according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The contract is reportedly worth $4 million for 2015 according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.
Aoki’s contract could potentially max out at two years and $12.5 million as Heyman notes that Aoki will receive an option for 2016 with a $700,00 buyout. Shea also adds that Aoki’s option for 2016 is valued at $5.5 million and that the Japan native can earn up to $1.5 million a year through incentives.
Aoki, 33, will likely slot into left field for the reigning world champion San Francisco Giants in 2015. In fact, Aoki is coming off a 2014 season in which he batted .285/.349/.360 with one homer and 17 stolen bases for the World Series runner-up, the Kansas City Royals. Therefore, the Giants got a very good look at Aoki during the two teams’ Fall Classic encounter.
For his career, Aoki owns a slash line of .287/.353/.387 while providing his team with stellar defense in the outfield. Whilst playing mostly right field during his major league career, Aoki owns a UZR/150 of +5.3 and +13 Defensive Runs Saved. With the spacious AT&T Park being his new home, his ability on defense will come in handy for the Giants.
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One thing the spacious ballpark by the bay will likely not help Aoki with is his power stroke. In his first two seasons, Aoki swatted 10 and 8 homers respectively for the Milwaukee Brewers. However, a move from Miller Park to the larger Kaufman Stadium zapped him of that power as he hit just the one long-ball in 2014. With that in mind, the Giants shouldn’t look for any slugging prowess from Aoki–otherwise, the team might be disappointed.
Another aspect to this move that should be considered is where it will leave Aoki’s new teammate Gregor Blanco. This signing will likely shift the left-handed Blanco to a 4th outfielder role with the club despite he and Aoki boasting very similar abilities. Much like Aoki, Blanco isn’t much of a power threat and consistently plays good defense in the outfield. In 2014, Blanco batted .260/.333/.374 with five homers, 38 RBI, and 16 stolen bases in 146 games.
For an even deeper comparison, here is how Aoki and Blanco have performed since 2012. The slash stats are their three-year averages while the counting stats are added for all three seasons.
Aoki: .286/.353/.387, 19 HR,130 RBI, 67 SB
Blanco: .256/.335/.356, 13 HR, 113 RBI, 56 SB
Therefore, if Aoki struggles to replicate his past success in 2015, the Giants can substitute his bat for an almost equally competent one. The way they have recorded their similar offensive numbers is actual quite different, though–although both players are left-handed batters, Blanco has been much stronger versus righty pitching while Aoki has actually hit better against lefties.
A more critical reason that the Giants signed Nori Aoki to replace Gregor Blanco, though, is not Blanco but Angel Pagan. Pagan has averaged just 84 games the past two seasons as he missed time with a variety of injuries, mostly to his back and hamstring. Such an injury would likely require Blanco to become San Francisco’s regular centerfielder, and having Aoki will ensure that left field does not become a weakness for the team if and when that happens.
Overall, Nori Aoki represents a good answer to the San Francisco Giants’ outfield question as his mix of defense, speed, and on-base capabilities should give the Giants a great table-setter at the top of their lineup. Even if he won’t provide the power of the recently departed Mike Morse, Aoki presents a more dynamic skill-set than most of the remaining free agents, and San Francisco will look forward to utilizing it to the fullest extent.