Now-former Major League slugger Jesus Aguilar is heading to Japan for the 2024 season as he looks to continue his career in professional baseball.
The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:
Aguilar signed a one-year contract Wednesday with the Seibu Lions in Japan.
ANALYSIS
Aguilar slashed just .221/.281/.385 over 36 games (115 plate appearances) last season with the Athletics before being released in June. He then joined Atlanta on a minor-league deal and played out the remainder of the 2023 campaign at Triple-A Gwinnett. The 33-year-old first baseman will look to rediscover his power stroke in Nippon Professional Baseball.
Aguilar has played parts of 10 seasons in the big leagues with the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, Baltimore Orioles and A's. He had a massive season in 2018, hitting 35 homers and bringing in 108. He made the All-Star team that year for the Brewers and played in a career-best 149 games.
He also hit 22 homers and brought in 93 for the Marlins in 2021 but was never able to replicate the success of 2018.
Lifetime, he's a .253 hitter with a .322 on-base percentage. He's hit 114 career home runs. He was part of playoff rosters in 2018 (Brewers) and 2020 (Marlins), popping three career playoff homers.
If Aguilar has a good year in Japan he could find himself back in the states in 2025, but given his age and erratic production levels, this could be the end of Aguilar in the big leagues.
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