Brewers trade OF Norichika Aoki to Royals for pitcher Will Smith
Norichika Aoki has a .288 batting average in his two seasons in the major leagues. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
The Milwaukee Brewers traded right fielder Norichika Aoki to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Will Smith, the Brewers announced Thursday.
Aoki hit .286 with eight homers and 37 RBI and stole 2o bases for the Brewers last season. He is under contract from $2 million next season. Aoki came to the States from Japan two years ago and has a .756 OPS in 305 career major league games.
Smith, 24, had a 3.24 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 43 strikeouts in 33.1 innings this year for the Royals. He was primarily used out of the bullpen.
