When the Mariners signed Nori Aoki to a one-year, $5.5 million contract, I remember feeling relieved. If you have followed the Mariners for even a small amount of time, you know that one of the flagship failures of the Jack Zduriencik Era was the inability to assemble anything resembling a major league outfield. While last offseason featured a loaded class of outfielders, the vast majority commanded salaries that ownership deemed excessive. Aoki was cheap, and while his stats weren't exciting, he was an average player, at a position where the Mariners craved competence.
Nori Aoki's skillset is one built around "just enoughs.