Seattle Mariners agree to one-year deal with Nori Aoki

The Seattle Mariners have reportedly reached an agreement with free agent outfielder Nori Aoki.

The Mariners have been active in the early part of the offseason, and they continued making moves today by landing Nori Aoki. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that Aoki has inked a one-year deal with the M’s with an option for a second.

Aoki will turn 34 years old next month and has spent time with the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants during his four seasons in Major League Baseball. Overall he sports a .287/.353/.386 slash line along with 24 home runs and 156 RBIs.

Aoki was limited to 93 games last season, his first with the Giants, after suffering a broken right leg in June. He slashed .287/.353/.380 with five homers and 26 RBIs in 392 plate appearances.

Aoki’s chief strength at the plate is his ability to get on base (.353 career OBP, 7.8% BB rate) and limit strikeouts (7.7% K rate). He has never offered much in the way of power, failing to reach 10 long balls since his first big league season.

However, as a left-handed leadoff hitter type, you could certainly do worse. Aoki has posted an OPS+ of at least 100 in three of his four seasons (he just missed the cut in 2014 with a mark of 99). He also provides some base-stealing potential, although his production in that area has steadily declined since he swiped 30 bags in his rookie campaign.

After dealing 1B/OF Mark Trumbo to the Orioles yesterday, the Mariners had some space in their outfield and worked quickly to address it. Although Aoki is a very different player from the slugging Trumbo, he presents a fresh option to go along with Seth Smith and the recently-acquired Leonys Martin.

Next: Greinke expected to sign this week

New general manager Jerry Dipoto will continue trying to enhance his roster as the M’s aim to improve upon a disappointing 2015.