Mariners News: Seattle Mariners Signing of Nori Aoki Imminent

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The Seattle Mariners have reportedly reached an agreement on a one year deal with an option for another year with free agent Nori Aoki pending a physical.

Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President and General Manager Jerry Dipoto was very busy today making moves.  The roster overhaul continues.  There were several moves made today but biggest of them was the early morning announcement that the Seattle Mariners reached an agreement with Nori Aoki.  The Mariners outfield looks to be pretty set with this addition.  The athletic 33 year old outfielder fits the defensive philosophy that Dipoto wants for the spacious outfield at Safeco.

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From the offensive side the left handed batting Aoki consistently gets on base.  His career on base percentage is .353.  His career numbers are .287/.353/.386.  He also hardly ever strikes out.  This is exactly what Jerry Dipoto has stated that he’s looking for.  He wants the team’s pitchers to strike opposing batters out and batters that don’t strike out much.  His contact rate (At-bats minus strikeouts divided by at-bats, or (AB – K)/AB)  in his 4 year major league career is 91.3%.  This is a big deal.  Several times in recent years the Seattle Mariners have had ninth innings or extra innings with runners at third base and no outs.  All the team needed was to make good contact with the ball and they failed a majority of the time.  This is a game changer.

The 5-foot-9 180 pound Japanese outfielder only played in 93 games in 2015.  This was due to a broken leg and a concussion with lingering symptoms from a Jake Arrieta fastball he took in the helmet.  Let’s hope the physical shows a clean bill of health.  In those 93 games he still managed to hit the same as his career numbers show with a slash line of .287/.353/.380.  He is very consistent.

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Jerry Dipoto’s plan is being unveiled before our very eyes.  This move isn’t just for another outfielder to plug in and cover ground defensively.  He is a top of the order threat.  He gets on base and steals bases.  Nori Aoki and Ketel Marte will wreak havoc on opposing pitchers.  Then Seager, Cano and Cruz will bring them in.  Nori Aoki is a big part of the plan going forward with this overhauled roster.  When it’s all said and done, this might very well be one of the cornerstones of the Jerry Dipoto plan.  Jerry is not listening to the criticism of trading away a home run hitting outfielder for a back up catcher.  He’s got his ear plugs in and he is on a mission.  He’s extremely focused and is staying the course.