Wise Kraken 28.2032: Aparicio Out Of a Job?

[aaronweiner]

Omar Aparicio was never a starter because of his bat, but a .528 OPS through fourteen games means that Aparicio, who was never expected to come close to his 550 plate appearances to hit his vesting option, might have lost his job for good. With the return of Valeri Kharlamov from the disabled list, Aparicio will find himself on the bench, replaced by Carlos Graciano. Graciano played well for the Kraken in Kharlamov's absence, holding down second base with solid defense and hitting .271 with power. Graciano, as his name would suggest, was gracious to Aparicio in this development.

"You never want to take someone's job, especially if they're a really fine player like Omar," said Graciano. "He's a wonderful player and I've learned a lot from being around him."

Aparicio, who did take Graciano's job when he joined the Kraken, will no doubt be the primary backup for all three infield positions and will get some starts against lefties and in backing up Graciano. Neither player is an exceptional hitter, but Graciano has been consistently better than Aparicio.

"Listen, I knew for sure I'm not going to keep my job all year," said Aparicio. "The team already told me that they have a kid named Jin-song Xuan they were going to replace me with, and I don't really hold a grudge against anyone about it. I make a lot of money to do what I love, and that's all I could have ever hoped for."