San Francisco Giants: Would Nori Aoki Be a Good Fit?
The latest free agent that the San Francisco Giants have reportedly shown interest in is Nori Aoki. The Giants most recently got a glimpse of Aoki when they beat the Kansas City Royals in the World Series back in October.
According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, Aoki, a free agent, has been seeking a three-year deal, but he is drawing interest from a couple teams for just a two-year deal. In addition to the Giants, the Baltimore Orioles have shown interest in signing Aoki, as they are currently desperate for more outfielders.
Aoki signing with the Giants is a somewhat intriguing idea. Although he isn’t known for his defensive prowess, the Giants currently have another outfielder that Aoki could platoon with in left field who is a defensive whiz, Gregor Blanco. Aoki would be a solid platoon mate with Blanco and would give Bruce Bochy more options in the starting lineup, given the platoon of an offensive player and a defensive player.
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Bochy could decide to start Aoki most of the days and use Blanco as a defensive replacement. Bochy could also decide to start Blanco some days and use Aoki as a valuable pinch hitter off the bench.
Aoki has mostly played right field in his career, but like Blanco, he can play all three outfield spots. Aoki’s defense isn’t completely atrocious, but the Giants certainly saw his shortcomings defensively, especially since Royals manager Ned Yost replaced him in the starting lineup for the more defensive-minded Jarrod Dyson in the World Series.
For his career, Aoki has a .990 fielding percentage in 375 games in right field, a .960 fielding percentage in 21 games in center field, and a 1.000 fielding percentage in 18 games in left field. In his 402 games in his career in the outfield, he has a .990 overall fielding percentage.
Offensively, Aoki is more intriguing. In 2012, his first season in MLB, he had his best season as a Major Leaguer with the Milwaukee Brewers. He hit .288, had a .355 on-base percentage, hit 10 home runs, collected 50 RBI, and stole 30 bases.
In 2013, also with the Brewers, he finished the season with a .286 batting average, a .356 on-base percentage, eight home runs, 37 RBI, and 20 stolen bases.
Last season with the Royals, Aoki batted .285, had a .349 on-base percentage, hit one home run, collected 43 RBI, and he stole 17 bases.
Aoki can consistently get on base, he can steal bases, and he can hit for average. He could potentially be the leadoff hitter, if Angel Pagan gets injured, or on off days for Pagan. These are all qualities that could be valuable for the Giants.
In addition to these offensive qualities, Aoki has experience in the National League, as he played for the Brewers for two seasons. Aoki’s playoff experience is limited to last season with the Royals though.
Aoki’s age is concerning though. The 33 year-old is quite possibly past his prime, given his best MLB season so far was when he was 30. Aoki is asking for a three-year deal but will most likely not get it. Would Aoki be valuable enough to the Giants that he’d be worth a two-year deal?
In addition, the Giants have been linked to Ben Zobrist in trade rumors, who is an even better fit for the Giants than Aoki would be, given his versatility and his ability to play left field every day. If the Giants aren’t able to pull off a trade for Zobrist though, would Aoki be a good signing? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.