A’s Sign IF Akinori Iwamura
By Joseph Lopez
The Oakland A’s, who have been without regular 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff for quite some time, have announced that they’ve signed veteran IF Akinori Iwamura to a contract. The 31-year-old, who was released by Pittsburgh, has had some experience at third, and at second-base. The A’s addition of Iwamura is a good one, defensively, but offensively, not so much.
Iwamura hit just .182 with the Pirates in 52 games before being optioned to Triple-A. Iwamura will be with the A’s on Monday in Kansas City, as the A’s begin their six-game road trip. Kevin Kouzmanoff, meanwhile, is still improving, but his lower back pain is not completely gone. The A’s 3B was hitting .256/.291/.404 prior to his injury, and leads the team in HR (14) and RBIs (69).