The Milwaukee Brewers and Norichika Aoki's representatives have exchanged proposals this weekend, Brewers GM Doug Melvin tells Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel.
Sponichi talked with Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, who saw Aoki workout for the club and he was impressed by the outfielder:
"It certainly wasn't a tryout. It was an opportunity for our GM and manager to directly see what type of player he is."
"Defensively he was terrific and he's a professional with an established track record, so he took it seriously."*
*Note: translation of a translation.
The Brewers won the rights to negotiate with Aoki through the posting system, with a $2.5 million winning bid, and have until Tuesday to reach an agreement with Aoki. If they fail to do so, the Brewers money is refunded from Aoki's team overseas and and Aoki returns back to Japan as well. That may not be a concern, however, as the the two sides are expected to reach an agreement by the Tuesday deadline.