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How does Aoki look in his new uniform? |
In the hunt for a right fielder the Royals acquired well rounded outfielder Norichika Aoki from the Brewers in exchange for left handed pitcher Will Smith. Aoki will be 32 next season and has 2 seasons under his belt, and those two seasons were pretty successful. He played 151 and 155 games in 2012 and 2013 respectively with nearly identical batting averages and on base percentages both seasons at .287 and .355. Aoki also features speed stealing 30 bases in 2012 and 20 bases in 2013, but being caught much more in 2013. Smith will be 24 in 2014 and has a mixture of succss and failure in his first two seasons. He sported a 5.32 ERA in 89.2 innings in his rookie year of 2012 and an ERA of 3.24 in 3.24 in 33.1 innings the following season. The chances of the Royals signing Carlos Beltran are now lowered.
Mujica will join a bullpen with Japanese duo Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara with Uehara as a closer. Mujica played with the Marlins and Cardinals the last 3 seasons and gathered 206 innings and a 2.93 ERA. Mujica closed for the Cardinals in 2013 after closer Jason Motte had to have Tommy John surgery. He eventually led the Cardinals to the World Series. Mujica is a great addition to the Red Sox bullpen. The deal is reported to be 2 years $9.5 Million.
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