Norichika Aoki traded to Royals

The Milwaukee Brewers traded outfielder Norichika Aoki to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Will Smith. Aoki, 31, came over from Japan in 2012, after spending eight seasons playing baseball in Japan. He's in the last year of his contract which the Brewers signed him to. He became a spark plug in the Brewers line-up, and was their lead off hitter a lot of the time. In 2012, for the Brewers he hit .288, with 10 home runs, 81 runs scored, 37 doubles, 150 hits, 50 rbi's, and 30 stolen bases. Aoki's 37 doubles became the most ever by a Brewers rookie in a single season. He can play all three outfield positions. Aoki also is good at getting on base, which is something the Royals needed help with.

Aoki's career stats in two full MLB seasons are: 306 games played, 321 hits, 161 runs scored, 57 doubles, 7 triples, 18 home runs, 87 rbi's, 50 stolen bases, and a batting average of .287.

What do the Brewers get in Will Smith? He's a lefty pitcher who can start. The Brewers seem to plan to want to use him as a starting pitcher, which is something the Brewers need. Smith came up for the Royals in 2012 and started 16 games going 6-9 with an era of 5.32. Last season, Smith pitched out of the bullpen for the Royals and seemed to do better pitching out of the bullpen for them. He finished the season with an era of 3.24.

Smith's career stats are: 35 games, 17 games started, 8 wins, 10 losses, 102 strikeouts, 123.0 innings pitched, and an era of 4.76.

As for me, I like this trade for the Royals better. I could end up liking it more for both teams though, depending on how Will Smith does this season for the Brewers. I also wonder why the Brewers traded Aoki, when he seems to love to hit against one of their big rivals in the St. Louis Cardinals. If the Brewers didn't like him hitting against the Cardinals, I'm fine with that; one less Cardinal killer to worry about facing a lot in their own division. I hope Will Smith proves me wrong and does a good job. I have a feeling that he does. So, this trade could end up helping both teams out. Time will tell to if it does help both teams out. At least it seems like the Royals improved themselves though.