Last offseason, the Oakland A’s made their one-and-only splash in the free agent market by signing Japanese right-hander Shintaro Fujinami to a one-year, $3.25 million contract out of NPB. There was a lot of interest in Fujinami coming over from Japan due to his velocity and his raw stuff—he easily touches 100 MPH with a plus splitter—but a lot of teams saw him as a reliever due to his command issues despite elite strikeout rates in Japan as a starter. He signed with A’s ostensibly in part because they had ample opportunity for him in the starting rotation, where they deployed him to begin the season.
Shintaro Fujinami is one of the most intriguing players on the 2024 Mets
