After receiving a demotion to Triple-A earlier this season, outfielder Nori Aoki has worked his way back into the Seattle Mariners plans for 2017.

Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports that the Mariners have increased interest in retaining Aoki, even if he does not reach his vesting option for next season.

Aoki, 34, is hitting .317 since returning from Triple-A. He is 60 plate appearances away from the 480 threshold that would trigger his $5 million option for 2017, Dutton writes, and could reach that number if he plays close to every day down the stretch. Regardless of if he reaches his plate-appearances threshold, it appears that the team is more than open to keeping him around for next season.

"He’s been awesome," general manager Jerry Dipoto told Dutton. "I don’t think he was ever out of our plans (for 2017)."

--Sam Henken