Aoki to SF (1/$5.4MM guaranteed, w/club option for 2016)

[jerichoholicninja]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/01/giants-nori-aoki-agree-to-one-year-deal.html

 

The Giants and outfielder Nori Aoki have agreed to a one-year contract with an option for the 2016 season, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). Aoki, a client of CAA Sports, receives a $4.7MM guarantee plus performance bonuses, via Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter links). He’ll earn $4MM in 2015, and his 2016 option contains a $700K buyout, according to Heyman, who adds that the contract can max out at $12.5MM over two years.

 

I had been advocating for Aoki and trading Parra in the rumors forum and if this is all it was going to take to get him I'm disappointed he's not in Milwaukee.

 

I also see Parra is signed for $6.2MM. Signing Aoki and trading Parra would have saved almost $2M.

[pete]

Man, that's cheap. I wonder if there were slightly better offers and the lure of playing in SF appealed to him as a Japanese. It would have been a better move for the Reds than trading away a good prospect for Byrd and his salary. IMO.

 

I wouldn't want him backing up CF for the Brewers. I don't know if anything is percolating for Parra and what the situation is with Schafer, but I'd think one of them has to be on the roster.

[pacopete4]

As much of a fan I am of Aoki, unless we had a great option to backup CF (not sure Schaffer is the guy), then keeping Parra is the way to go. Lefty that can play all 3 positions is big for us. Just wish he got on base more.

[bill hAll Star]

I prefer Parra to Aoki greatly. Aoki is not a great defender and has neutral splits.

 

Parra will be facing all righties where he excels and can defend well at every position. Worth the upgrade.

[davego]

I'm with Brew4U and Bill hAll on this one.

[Outlander]

Aoki's decline with his defense can't be understated. He is not a good backup CF option. Parra is in his prime years only slightly older than Davis, while Aoki will continue to decline offensively and defensively.

[SRB]

Aoki is an average defender, whereas Parra is one of the best in all of baseball. I'll take the elite defensive sub over Aoki's slightly better offense given who our two starting corner OF are.

[JohnBriggs12]

They could get by with either Schafer or Wren as 5th outfielder and backup CF. If he's healthy, Gomez isn't coming out of the lineup very often anyway. If Gomez misses significant time, they are toast whoever his backup is. Aoki's contract is more in line with a solid veteran 4th outfielder. He's a better hitter than Parra and it's not close. Aoki gives you quality AB's mostly by fouling off good pitches. I would still look to see if I can trade Parra for bullpen help and use Clark in the corner OF backup spot. Clark had too good a year at AAA and 3 HR in 31 PA in majors not to be given a shot at a significant role on this team.

[logan82]

They could get by with either Schafer or Wren as 5th outfielder and backup CF. If he's healthy, Gomez isn't coming out of the lineup very often anyway. If Gomez misses significant time, they are toast whoever his backup is.

I don't think it likely that all of Braun, Davis and Gomez make it through a full year without injury. They will all miss time and need regular time off. All are right handed so a good backup left handed hitter will probably receive about 400 PA. That's almost a full time player.

 

Aoki's contract is more in line with a solid veteran 4th outfielder. He's a better hitter than Parra and it's not close.

If we were talking about a full time player and not considering defense, you may be right. We are not. We are talking about a backup who will most likely make most his starts against RHP. Looking at splits just against RHP they are both really similar. Parra actually comes out a little ahead because of his far superior power. Interestingly Parra has a better BA against RHP and I know how much you love BA. Taking defense into account Parra is the far superior option.

 

Aoki gives you quality AB's mostly by fouling off good pitches. I would still look to see if I can trade Parra for bullpen help and use Clark in the corner OF backup spot. Clark had too good a year at AAA and 3 HR in 31 PA in majors not to be given a shot at a significant role on this team.

Parra had better results. Anything beyond that, in my opinion, is just trying to rationalize a personal position.

 

Bottom line Parra is currently the better player who is in the middle of his prime years while Aoki is an aging lesser player.

[brewcrewdue80]

Happy for Aoki to go to a Winning franchise. He's the exact type of Giants acquisition that becomes a huge payoff during a season. You see these players on the roster and think, oh, weakness for the Giants, only to see them perform. If Aoki can bring a .350s OB to the top of that lineup when he plays he's doing that team right.