While the A’s and City of Oakland have yet to reach a development agreement for the Howard after a hopeful $180M “Mega Grant” from the U.S. Department of Transportation will not be awarded to the project’s offsite infrastructure needs.
The Athletics reportedly have invested in Japanese talent in the midst of their quiet offseason, grabbing a pitcher who has drawn past comparisons to MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Hard-throwing righty Shintaro Fujinami and the A's are in agreement on a one-year contract, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Wednesday, citing a source.
Oakland was among several finalists for Fujinami, MLB Network's Jon Morosi also reported Wednesday, and a spot in the A's starting rotation might have been what pushed the team over the top.
The 28-year-old was posted by the Hanshin Tigers of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball organization last month after 10 seasons with the club. Last year, he pitched to a career-best 1.118 WHIP in 107 1/3 innings while boasting a fastball that has been clocked at 100 mph.
Fujinami was a high school phenom in the same draft class as Ohtani, going straight to the pros and excelling. He struggled with command issues and injuries a few years into his professional baseball career, however, then jumped between the Tigers' first team and farm system after that.
In 2022, however, Fujinami bounced back with a 3.38 ERA in 10 starts and six relief appearances, posting a career-best 7.6 percent walk rate. It's possible the A's might have struck gold with his raw talent, which features a three-pitch arsenal with a low-90s splitter and sharp slider to go along with his high-heat fastball.
Oakland Athletics
"He is someone who, at a time in his career, was viewed as being as electrifying as [Yu] Darvish or Ohtani," Morosi said Wednesday on MLB Network. "... A really dynamic repertoire that I believe will allow him to have success with the Oakland Athletics, as long as he's not counted on to throw necessarily 180 innings or more."
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With an A's rotation featuring candidates like Cole Irvin, Paul Blackburn and a host of other undecided options on the roster, Fujinami should be able to slip right into Oakland's starting group with plenty of support.
