On Friday the San Francisco Giants signed a free agent who played against them in the World Series, while the Pittsburgh Pirates made their deal official with Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang.
Outfielder Nori Aoki has agreed to a one-year deal with the World Series champion Giants, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 33-year-old will get a $4 million base salary plus performance bonuses in 2015, and the deal also includes a $5.5 million club option for 2016 or a $700,000 buyout, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The incentives and the club option can make the deal with up to $12.5 million over two years. He'll make at least $4.7 million in 2015.
Aoki spent last season with the Kansas City Royals, who fell to the Giants in the World Series. In his third MLB season, the Japanese outfielder slashed .285/.349/.360 with 63 runs scored, 43 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He owns a solid career stat line of .287/.353/.387 with 19 home runs, 130 RBIs and 67 stolen bases after two years with the Milwaukee Brewers and one with the Royals. Heyman noted earlier in the offseason that Aoki was expected to land a two- or three-year deal that would pay him $7-$8 million annually, but it appears he'll get much less than that after declining more years and money from other clubs.
Nonetheless, he'll join Hunter Pence, Gregor Blanco, Angel Pagan and Travis Ishikawa in San Francisco's outfield.
On the East Coast, Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang passed his physical with the Pittsburgh Pirates and hopes to become the first player from the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) to reach the MLB. The 27-year-old signed the four-year contract that the two sides agreed upon earlier in the week and the deal is now official. It was previously reported to be worth $16 million, but Heyman reports the contract is worth $11 million and includes a club option for a fifth season.
Pittsburgh paid Kang's Korean club, the Nexen Heroes, a $5 million posting fee to exclusively negotiate with the shortstop, which makes the deal worth a total of $16 million as opposed to the previously believed $21 million. It's unclear as of right now how Kang will be used once he joins the team, but he's ready to make an impact in Pittsburgh.
"First, I want to thank the Nexen Heroes for allowing me the challenge of competing at a Major League level," said Kang in a Pirates team release, via this MLB.com article. "I'm very excited and humbled by this opportunity. I look forward to joining a great group of teammates and I am ready to work hard to help the Pirates win any way that I can."
