Trade Target: Norichicka Aoki

Ah, Mr. Aoki. A lot of Pirates fans hate him because he's part of the cause of why the Brewers kill the Pirates. He's only been in the league for two years after skipping over from Japan but has made quite the impact as a lead off man. Now that the Brewers are selling, could Aoki skip over to another NL Central team like the Pirates?

We're all familiar with Aoki and I'm sure a lot of you are saying that he doesn't fit the previous trade targets that I mentioned and isn't what we need. But before you say that, I think Starling Marte could help the woes with RISP if he were moved down a little bit in the order or even to number two. He could drive in Aoki. Well, lets look at Aoki's numbers. He has a slash of .298/.366/.378 for an OPS of .744 with 4 HRs, 19 RBIs, and 10 steals. Good numbers for a lead off man. The only thing to compare that with is his stats last year where he hit .288/.355/.433, OPS .788, 10 HRs, 50 RBI, and 30 SB. That's a guy I'd like at the top of the order with Marte as table setters giving guys even more opportunity to bring guys home and in turn an increase in production. But, if you're thinking Aoki batting say 6th or 7th, he is hitting .306/.397/.367 for an OPS of .764 this year with RISP and last year hit .280/.374/.360 OPS .734. So he's not bad in those spots but he's not good either. He's a strong defender too and would not be a liability playing daily.

The one issue I have with Aoki is if he fits exactly what the Pirates need. I have to think even without the addition of a run producing bat that our guys would do it more. But if they don't and we add Aoki as a table setter, the problem just becomes worse. On the other hand, if the offense comes around, you'll see guys driving in Aoki and Marte and producing runs that way by bringing in more in a single helping. It would be awful nice to see Pedro at the plate blasting dingers with Marte AND Aoki on base.

In my opinion, Aoki is a legit trade target even though he's not a "big bat". If he can get on base with Marte, guys will have to drive them in. They can't choke like this forever. It'd be damn nice to automatically count on a guy getting to first and possibly two guys when Marte is hot. Despite all of this defending I'm doing, I'd still rather see a big bat at a similar price that you'd get for trading for a guy in division. So I wouldn't put him high on the want list. Either way, if NH traded for Aoki I would be satisfied but not thrilled. I have no doubt though that he is a serious option.

Tomorrow's trade target will be OF David DeJesus

UPDATE: Matt Garza, who I formerly featured, was scouted last night by the Pirates and four other teams. That doesn't mean we're making a deal for him but it does show we have some interest.