Chicago White Sox Interested In Nori Aoki
By Ed Carroll
The Kansas City Royals aren’t likely to retain right fielder Nori Aoki when he hits MLB free agency on Tuesday, and th AL Central rival Chicago White Sox reportedly have interest.
Outfielder Nori Aoki will become a free agent on Tuesday, and it doesn’t appear that the Kansas City Royals will re-sign their right fielder. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports another AL Central team is interested in Aoki: the Chicago White Sox.
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“Aoki is likely to leave the Royals and sign elsewhere,” Cafardo reported. “He was a nice fit for the Royals and will be a nice fit elsewhere as a good on-base, defensive right fielder. Look for the White Sox to be a team with a lot of interest.”
Despite what Cafardo said, Aoki wasn’t actually a great fielder with the Royals last year (-8 Defensive Runs Saved), although he was good for the two years before that with the Milwaukee Brewers. Aoki does get on base (.349 OBP), and likely won’t command a fortune on the free agent market (although he probably won’t sign for peanuts, either). He made slightly less than $2 million in 2014, and will be looking for a raise.
The White Sox have outfielders Adam Eaton in centerfield and Avisail Garcia in right field, although he could DH with Paul Konerko retiring, or the team could be interested in having Aoki play left field.
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