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Brewers Sign Norichika Aoki

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2012 at 8:19pm CDT

FRIDAY: Aoki is guaranteed to make $2.5MM in the first two years with Milwaukee, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).  With incentives and bonuses, Aoki can make a a little over $8.6MM over three years.

THURSDAY: Aoki will earn $1MM in 2012 and $1.25MM in 2013, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. The deal includes lots of incentives.

TUESDAY: The Brewers announced that they signed outfielder Norichika Aoki to a two-year deal that includes a club option for 2014. Earlier today, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the Brewers and the three-time NPB batting champion were finalizing an agreement.

The Brewers won the rights to negotiate with Aoki with a $2.5MM bid in December. The 30-year-old outfielder hit .292/.358/.360 for the Yakult Swallows last year and would assume a bench role for Milwaukee.

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

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Milwaukee Brewers Transactions Norichika Aoki

Melvin: Brewers “Way Over” Projected Budget
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AL East Links: Montero, Kuroda, Red Sox, Yankees
View Comments (30)

Comments

  1. LanceKlein

    11 years ago

    Who?

    Reply
    • AisoRed

      11 years ago

      No-ree-chee-kah Ay-oh-kee

      Reply
  2. ARod's Ring

    11 years ago

    Love it! Let’s see what he can do in the Majors!

    Reply
  3. VivaJackMurphy

    11 years ago

    As they used to say at Meiji-Jingu Stadium in Tokyo…

    AOKEHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  4. cardsfan209

    11 years ago

    He could be a stud….or he could be a dud. Players from japan/china/korea are very risky to sign. Just look at Tsuyoshi Nishioka for example. Most of these players look fantastic in their native countries while playing ball but most don’t live up to the expectations that are put upon them by critics and fans 

    Reply
    • Lublow Z.

      11 years ago

      Nishioka is literally the only Japanese import (via posting) that has been a total bust.  Check yo self.

      Reply
      • YourBase

        11 years ago

        The dude got hurt in the beginning of the season. Let’s see him play healthy before we label him a bust.

        Reply
      • cardsfan209

        11 years ago

        Your statement is inaccurate. Kei Igawa and Akinori Iwamura were both very decent for their Japanese teams and since coming to the MLB, they have done pretty much nothing for the respected teams. Sounds like a couple more busts to me

        Reply
        • cedarandstone

          11 years ago

          Shinjo!

          In fairness, he had about the same production in Japan as he did here.

        • cedarandstone

          11 years ago

          Shinjo!

          In fairness, he had about the same production in Japan as he did here.

        • Lublow Z.

          11 years ago

          Aoki is a pitcher?

        • cardsfan209

          11 years ago

          No hes a OF. Didn’t you read the article?

        • Lublow Z.

          11 years ago

          lol

        • Rene Szeywerth

          11 years ago

          Igawa was not in his prime any more in Japan, even got demoted there for a short time due to ineffectiveness. Plus he relied heavily on a pitch (his change) he couldn’t replicate in the MLB. Red flags all over the place – which the Yankees would have noticed had they scouted him…
          Iwamura was a serviceable player (3 WAR) in his first two seasons, not the power hitter he had been in Japan (with 40+ HR). But that has been a well known problem.
          The Brewers got Aoki pretty cheap at about 2 mio $/year half of which is the posting fee. Doesn’t cost that much, easy to trade away, some upside there and they have evaluated him in person (so there’s got something they like).

        • sourbob

          11 years ago

          So you’re saying there are no busts on the list, if you use hindsight to edit the list?

      • cardsfan209

        11 years ago

        Your statement is inaccurate. Kei Igawa and Akinori Iwamura were both very decent for their Japanese teams and since coming to the MLB, they have done pretty much nothing for the respected teams. Sounds like a couple more busts to me

        Reply
  5. AaronAngst

    11 years ago

    Kudos to Doug Melvin & friends for going outside of their comfort zone to make this move. While historical evidence may suggest Aoki is unlikely to pan out as a full-time major leaguer, there’s always the possibility he breaks trends. He’ll get every opportunity to prove he belongs for the first fifty games of the season, at any rate. I’m buying myself an Aoki tee as soon as they’re available. I did so in support of Bill Hall in ’06, and I believe that’s what solely lead to his most successful MLB season…

    Reply
  6. sourbob

    11 years ago

    I love seeing international players come over, so I’ll be rooting for Aoki. 

    But $4.75MM over two years for a guy coming off a .360 SLG against sub-MLB competition seems really steep.

    Reply
    • AaronAngst

      11 years ago

      It’s really not much of a commitment, all things considered. He’s getting Laynce Nix money, and I don’t know about you but in this case I’d prefer the “unknown” to the “known” at that price point. If he can play semi-regularly and get on base at a .350+ clip, he’s more than worth the money.

      Reply
  7. Leonard Washington

    11 years ago

    Wonder what that incentives are like.

    Reply
  8. nats2012

    11 years ago

    Good sign by the Brewers.  Its always fun to watch rookies or international players to see how they do at this level.

    Reply
  9. AisoRed

    11 years ago

    $4.75 MM total? Not too much of a risk with it. I hope it works out.

    Reply
    • Tim Montague

      11 years ago

      I wish an employer took a 4.75MM risk on me 🙁

      Reply

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