Aoki under the radar, but key to busy Astros offseason

HOUSTON — Veteran outfielder Norichika Aoki was the Astros’ first addition this offseason, when they plucked him off waivers from the Mariners shortly after the conclusion of the World Series. Within a couple of weeks, the Astros had traded for catcher Brian McCann and signed outfielders Josh Reddick and Carlos Beltran, making Aoki a largely forgotten commodity.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch, though, sees the 34-year-old native of Japan as an important piece to the club next year. A left-handed bat who’s difficult to strike out, Aoki batted .283 with 24 doubles, four triples, four homers and 28 RBIs with a .349 on-base percentage over 118 games this past season.

“He’s a little bit of an under-the-radar acquisition for us,” Hinch said. “We started with him and we’ve sort of gotten bigger and bigger as the acquisitions have come. Aoki, I planned on playing in the outfield quite a bit. He’s good against right-handed pitching. He holds his own against lefties. … He’s a tough guy to …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com