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.
Who?
No-ree-chee-kah Ay-oh-kee
Love it! Let’s see what he can do in the Majors!
As they used to say at Meiji-Jingu Stadium in Tokyo…
AOKEHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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
Nishioka is literally the only Japanese import (via posting) that has been a total bust. Check yo self.
The dude got hurt in the beginning of the season. Let’s see him play healthy before we label him a bust.
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
Shinjo!
In fairness, he had about the same production in Japan as he did here.
Shinjo!
In fairness, he had about the same production in Japan as he did here.
Aoki is a pitcher?
No hes a OF. Didn’t you read the article?
lol
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).
So you’re saying there are no busts on the list, if you use hindsight to edit the list?
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
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…
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.
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.
Wonder what that incentives are like.
Good sign by the Brewers. Its always fun to watch rookies or international players to see how they do at this level.
$4.75 MM total? Not too much of a risk with it. I hope it works out.
I wish an employer took a 4.75MM risk on me 🙁