Right-hander Shintaro Fujinami is planning to play in the Puerto Rican Winter League this offseason as he looks to demonstrate his health for interested clubs, he revealed in an interview with Japanese news outlet Sponichi. He hopes to continue playing in the United States for the 2025 season.
Fujinami’s one-year, $3.35MM deal with the Mets for the 2024 season was derailed by injuries. The hard-throwing 30-year-old (31 in April) was expected to have a place in New York’s bullpen but landed on the injured list in spring training due to shoulder troubles and never wound up pitching in the majors. He pitched four scoreless rehab innings between Rookie ball, Class-A and Double-A but was hit hard in 32 frames with the Mets’ Triple-A club. In those 32 frames, he yielded a 6.68 ERA and walked just over 22% of his opponents. Fujinami still sat at a hearty 97.3 mph with his heater and fanned 25.7% of his opponents, but that velocity was down from the prior season and his command was a disaster even relative to his own shaky standards.
Many Mets fans raised an eyebrow at the time of the Fujinami signing. A big league deal for a reliever coming off a combined 7.18 ERA in 79 innings between the A’s and Orioles in 2023 indeed looked curious absent more context. But that ghastly earned run average was skewed by a woeful run of four starts with the A’s to begin his big league career. Fujinami pitched just 15 innings in Oakland’s rotation but yielded 24 runs on 19 hits and 12 walks. He was dropped to the bullpen and, after a rough start in that role as well, found his groove.
Over his final 51 1/3 innings of the 2023 campaign, Fujinami posted a far more palatable 4.21 ERA. That’s still hardly an eye-catching mark, but that earned run average was accompanied by a 25.5% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate — vast improvements from his earlier work. He also averaged a blazing 99.2 mph on his heater during that stretch and coupled that with a sharp 12.7% swinging-strike rate. Fujinami was showing an ability to miss bats both off the plate and in the zone and, at times, looking flat-out dominant (as can be seen in GIF form, courtesy of the indispensable Rob Friedman). A modest one-year deal for a then 29-year-old righty who was once a top pick and prospect alongside Shohei Ohtani in NPB seemed perfectly sensible, particularly for a deep-pocketed club like the Mets.
This time around, a big league deal seems less likely (though not impossible, depending how he looks in Puerto Rico). He’ll be showcasing his health in hopes of generating interest among big league clubs. If he looks healthy and regains some the roughly two miles per hour he lost off his heater in the wake of that shoulder injury with the Mets, he could land an invite to spring training next year and compete for a job in a big league bullpen. MLB clubs are constantly drawn to power arms of this nature, so a non-guaranteed deal should be there if Fujinami is healthy and shows some semblance of improved command.
LFGMets (Metsin7) #BannedForBeingABaseballExpert
Mets never gave him a chance. He would have easily been our best reliever
please disperse
I get you’re joking but the bullpen saved the team early in the year when the starters didn’t go more than 5 innings. Also funny thing to say about a team a few games from the World Series lol
metsin4
He wasn’t joking. He literally believes that.
FemboySportsFan!
That’s just completely not true, and you know that.
jwt421
You know, the Mets could win the WS and you’d comment on here how they’re doing everything incorrectly and would do better if they just took your advice..
You’re clearly a passionate Mets fan, but considering where they are right now, I’m guessing that Stearns and Co. know more than you about talent evaluation. Looking at his AAA stats suggests why he was never given a chance on a big league roster this year.
Flanster
He most certainly is not a Mets fan. Almost every single comment that he makes disparages whatever the Mets have done. He is nothing but a shi!stirrer
TerryTurnbuckle
He’ll get a sympathy invite to someone’s Spring Training to improve that team’s relations with Japan. Such a common and transparent practice that should be taken up when the CBA expires.
jbigz12
His arm will draw interest but I doubt anyone reigns in the command to make him worthwhile. Tampa Bay would be the most interesting landing spot.
Acoss1331
Cleveland and Seattle are also pitching clinics, those are other good spots for him.
jbigz12
Seattle, yes. He wouldn’t have a chance to crack CLE’s pen & they develop their own guys through their system for the most part. Definitely top tier at what they do though.
Tom the ray fan
Rays should pick him up
King Floch
Ganbatte, Fuji-san!
10centBeerNight
Real life Nuke LaLoosh
stymeedone
Nuke LaLoosh, with subtitle.