Astros: No Arbitration for Nori Aoki This Offseason

Well, the Astros at least did something in the last 24 hours. That counts for something, right?

While the entire world awaits Edwin Encarnacion‘s decision on where to call home next, the Astros continued on with their offseason.

This is definitely not the news that Astros fans were hoping for to start the day yesterday. Most were eagerly waiting on Encarancion to sign a deal to play in Houston. Well, if you believe certain sources on Twitter.

However, this is still a good baseball move to lock up Nori Aoki for the 2017 season. Don’t forget that he can be serviceable outfielder for Houston as the team looks to balance the lineup. And Aoki certainly does that as he doesn’t strike out a lot. In fact, he only has an 8.0% SO% for his entire career. That is a welcomed addition in my book for a lineup that has been a bit strike out prone in recent years.

But you do sacrifice power with Aoki as the 34-year old has only hit 28 home runs for his major league career. That’s besides the point, though.

The $5.5 million agreed upon matches the salary that Aoki earned last season. In fact, this deal is actually less than what he could’ve made via arbitration. So the Astros may have gotten a deal of this in the end. After all, you can do much worse with $5.5 million.

Next: Astros: Times are Changing for Houston Baseball

Just keep an eye out on the team in the coming days. The big move may be coming. At the same time, let’s also take notice of the team making incremental improvements to roster depth.

**Statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference**