KANSAS CITY, MO – July 24: Norichika Aoki #23 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates after hitting a game-winning RBI single in the 14th inning against the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium on July 24, 2014 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals won 2-1. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) Nori Aoki gives the Astros a high-quality contact hitter.
After he was somewhat surprisingly placed on waivers by the Seattle Mariners, the Houston Astros claimed outfielder Nori Aoki.
Aoki helps fill the holes left by Carlos Gomez‘s release and Colby Rasmus‘ impending free agency.
Mostly a left fielder throughout his career, Aoki does have some experience playing all three outfield positions.
The 34-year-old left-handed hitter has been an incredibly consistent hitter as a professional. A career .286 hitter, Aoki has never hit worse than .283 in a season (2016) and has never exceeded .288 in a season (2012).
He is what he is, and that’s a .280’s hitter who’s going to post a OBP in the .350’s. The downside is that he’s going to do it with very little power (28 career home runs and 184 career RBIs).
While he was something of a base-stealer early in his career (30 during his rookie season in 2012), he hasn’t stolen more than 20 in a season since then and only swiped 7 bags last year.
Aoki joins Tony Kemp and Preston Tucker as the Astros’ left-handed hitting outfield options for next season.
Here is the statement released by Astros GM Jeff Luhnow on Aoki:
Astros GM Jeff Luhnow on claiming Nori Aoki pic.twitter.com/xK4vxOLw3Q
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) November 3, 2016
- TAGS
- Houston Astros
- Jeff Luhnow
- Nori Aoki
- Seattle Mariners
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