The Oakland Athletics grabbed some headlines late on Wednesday when they signed Japanese right-hander Shintaro Fujinami to a one-year contract.
Fujinami was posted by the Hanshin Tigers after a solid season in which posted a 7-6 record and 2.77 ERA in 25 relief appearances.
The 28-year-old is expected to compete for a job in the starting rotation for the A’s.
This is the third move made by the team to strengthen its pitching staff.
Oakland had previously signed right-handers Drew Rucinski and Trevor May to one-year deals.
This afternoon, Jon Morosi stopped by MLB Network to discuss the A’s recent signing and what it means for 2023.
"He is someone who at a time in his career, was viewed as being as electrifying as Darvish or Ohtani."@jonmorosi breaks down Shintaro Fujinami's reported deal with Oakland and the potential he could bring. #MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/S4ZgC6XQWX
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 12, 2023
Fujinami will join a group of starters that includes Cole Irvin, Paul Blackburn, J.P. Sears, James Kaprielian, A.J. Puk, Adam Oller, Ken Waldichuk, Adrian Martinez, and others.
Morosi mentioned that at one time, Fujinami was considered as electric as Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani.
Of course, injuries and command issues have slowed him down slightly, but the right-hander has a high ceiling and appears to be a solid pickup for the A’s as they look to strengthen their pitching staff for 2023.
The right-hander was once a starter, with his best season coming in 2015.
That year, the 28-year-old went 14-7 with a 2.40 ERA in 28 starts.
Morosi also noted that Fujinami has an elite arsenal of pitches, including a splitter that registers in the low 90s.
The A’s will have to pay a “release fee” to Fujinami’s former team.
Oakland finished with a 60-102 record in 2022, the second-worst in all of baseball.
NEXT: The A's Have An Agreement With Key Pitcher