Mariners sign Shintaro Fujinami to Minor League deal

The Mariners have agreed to a minor league deal with the hard-throwing righty Shintaro Fujinami, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network. The Boras Corporation client will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Fujinami, 31 in April, came over from Japan in 2023 when he signed a one-year deal with the A’s. After a disastrous start to his big league career in the former Oakland rotation, he moved to the bullpen and ended up settling in well. His season-long ERA never really recovered after allowing 24 runs in his first 15 MLB innings, but Fujinami cruised to a 3.32 ERA, 25.6% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate over his last 21 2/3 innings , before being traded to the Orioles — and he did so while averaging an eye-popping 99.5 mph on his heater and posting a mammoth 15% swinging-strike rate.

Fujinami got off to a nice start with the O’s post-trade, posting a 3.76 ERA with big strikeout totals in his first 26 1/3 innings. He was scratched for five runs in his final 3 1/3 innings spanning five appearances and finished his time in Baltimore with a pedestrian 4.85 ERA. Still, the underlying numbers looked intriguing.

The Mets noticed those numbers under the hood and inked Fujinami to a one-year contract last winter. He was expected to have a spot in the team’s bullpen, but was limited in spring training with shoulder problems. He began the season on the injured list and rebuilt the minors before being recalled in early May to move to the 60-day injured list (and open a 40-man spot) due to what was called a shoulder strain. Fujinami was shelved until the end of June.

In 24 1/3 innings when reinstated to the minors, Fujinami posted a 1.85 ERA and a 29-to-12 K/BB ratio. He did so with an average fastball of 97.3 mph, more than two full miles per hour shy of his 2023 mark, and he wilted in the final weeks of the season, yielding eight runs in his final 4 1/3 frames of minor league ball.

Fujinami revealed back in October that he planned to play winter ball on the heels of his injury-plagued year. The goal was to get hold of another big league club, and he has now done so after thriving in the Puerto Rican Winter League. In 20 2/3 innings with los Gigantes de Carolina, Fujinami boasts a 3.05 ERA, 26.7% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate. Command is still an issue, but the right-hander’s blistering fastball, ability to miss bats and overall strong winter showing will give him another opportunity to return to the majors.

The Mariners have a track record of finding hidden gems in the bullpen market and will be hoping that Fujinami can be their latest rags-to-riches success story. Seattle’s bullpen is anchored by true star Andres Muñoz, and he wants that Collin Snider, Trent Thornton, Gregory Santos and Taylor Saucedo in his lineup. Options to fill out the bullpen include Gabe Speier, Eduard Bazardo, Carlos Vargas, Troy Taylor, Cody Bolton and dispensation collections Tyler Jay and Hagen Danneramong other things. The M’s also have powerhouse relievers Matt Brash recovering from last May’s Tommy John surgery, and they could get a look at Jackson Kowar also early in the season; he underwent his own Tommy John procedure late last March.