The Saitama Seibu Lions took a short term gamble on a different signing after what was a controversial lowballing for the predecessor.
Jesus Aguilar
Tenures: 2023 with the Oakland Athletics, 2024 with the Seibu Lions
Statistics with Oakland: 36 games, 114 PAs, .221/.281/.385, 5 HRs, 9 RBIs
Statistics with the Seibu Lions: 30 games, 124 PAs, .204/.274/.301, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs
Aguilar's career started with the Cleveland Indians as an amateur signing in November of 2007 while still being a teenager.
Once named to the All Star Futures game, Aguilar saw a handful of MLB action in Cleveland from 2014-2016, but couldn't stay up at the ichi-gun level enough. With a team that already had Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli, there was no room for Aguilar to grow and he was released after 2016.
The Milwaukee Brewers claimed Aguilar off waivers for 2017 and he made the Opening Day roster with a strong spring training. He became a regular and had a peak 2018 season where he was named an All Star and hit 35 HRs, with most of his production coming from the first half of the season.
Aguilar was traded during the 2019 season to the Tampa Bay Rays for Jake Faria where he appeared in 37 games and was released at the conclusion.
The Miami Marlins claimed Aguilar off waivers and he was a starting 1B for them in 2020 and 2021. After 113 games into the 2022 season, Aguilar was released again and spent the final weeks of the year with the Baltimore Orioles.
In 2023, the Oakland A's signed Aguilar to a one-year, $3 million contract. His tenure was short lived for only 36 games as the A's designated him for assignment after pitcher Paul Blackburn returned from injury.
In context, the A's were running a bare bones operation and spent as minimally as possible to suppress their attendance and draw fan apathy. Aguilar's token contract could sum up the cheapness of the organization in a nutshell.
The Saitama Seibu Lions chose to sign Aguilar for 2024 to a ¥210 million contract, which is rather high for an import player lacking NPB experience.
Much was asked of Aguilar to fill the shoes and void left by a departed and troubled Hotaka Yamakawa. The Lions even chose to part ways with David MacKinnon, who was a starting infielder for all of 2022 just so they can hope for more power hitting.
Aguilar's time was a disaster with nearly no power, two home runs, one hero interview and a forgetful time as a cleanup hitter.
An ankle injury sidelines him in early May and he never played an ichi-gun game again. He has surgery to repair his right ankle, but the damage was done to both himself and the Lions for a lack of offensive production and presence at the ichi-gun when it was needed.
The 2024 season was hinging on import signings more than ever with the lack of hitting the Lions have had. Aguilar's flop combined with a few others led to the Lions staff having significant changes. Manager Kazuo Matsui was forced to resign at the end of May, while Hisanobu (Nabe-Q) put himself as the interim manager to finish the season.
However, he too stepped down from his General Manager position with the near historic last place finish for 2024. Four staff positions were even filled from outside the organization.
Aguilar is currently a free agent.
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Others in the series:
Roger Repoz
Jim Tyrone
Esteban German
Bert Campaneris
Hiram Bocachica
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