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A’s Move Shintaro Fujinami To Relief

By Anthony Franco | April 24, 2023 at 11:09pm CDT

The Athletics are moving right-hander Shintaro Fujinami from the rotation to a relief role, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters before tonight’s game against the Angels (relayed by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). Kotsay left open the possibility for an eventual move back to the starting staff but suggested the club would first “assess” Fujinami in shorter stints.

Oakland signed Fujinami to a one-year, $3MM deal over the winter. It was one of the more intriguing low-cost dice rolls of the offseason. Fujinami had shown excellent arm speed and quality strikeout stuff at times in his career in Japan. That had often been paired with huge walk totals to the point that his NPB club, the Hanshin Tigers, frequently moved him between the top roster and their minor league club.

The A’s gave Fujinami a crack at a rotation job to bring him to Oakland. The 6’6″ hurler issued 17 walks in 18 2/3 innings in Spring Training, yet the A’s stuck with the plan to keep him in the Opening Day starting staff. Fujinami has taken four times through the rotation but has yet to find any success. He’s allowed 24 runs in only 15 innings, walking 12 batters and surrendering 19 hits. Fujinami only once made it past the fifth inning and took the loss in all four outings.

It’s obviously not how the team nor the 29-year-old had envisioned his first few weeks in the majors. They’ll hope for better results in short stints, where Fujinami’s power arsenal could be more effective. He’s averaged just under 97 MPH on his fastball and gotten a decent number of swinging strikes on both his splitter and slider. He’s issued far too many walks and given up plenty of hard contact out of the rotation though.

The A’s lost a member of their relief corps to injury, as righty Adrián Martínez landed on the 15-day injured list with a strain in his throwing elbow. Kotsay told repairers that Martínez underwent an MRI and is shut down from throwing for the next few days while the club awaits imaging results (Gallegos link). A more specific timeline will be dependent on the MRI but it’d seem likely he’ll be out beyond two weeks.

Fujinami and recent trade acquisition Sam Long offer the ability to work multiple innings in relief. Meanwhile, it seems as if another offseason pickup — KBO signee Drew Rucinski — could take the vacated rotation spot. Rucinski has been on the IL all season due to a hamstring issue. He’s now made three rehab starts with Triple-A Las Vegas, reaching five innings and 72 pitches yesterday. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s reinstated to make his A’s debut later this week.

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Oakland Athletics Adrian Martinez Drew Rucinski Shintaro Fujinami

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View Comments (34)
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Comments

  1. julyn82001

    1 month ago

    The A’s rolled the dice on Fujinami. Maybe he will fare better as a reliever…

    1
    Reply
    • Ham Fighter

      1 month ago

      They need to move back to Japan he’s total garbage

      1
      Reply
  2. statman

    1 month ago

    What a relief … he was driving away the fan(s).

    7
    Reply
    • aragon

      1 month ago

      what fans?

      6
      Reply
    • mattwild1

      1 month ago

      you can’t have a negative # of fans

      6
      Reply
    • MiggyforMVP

      1 month ago

      What do you mean? This guy has been carrying my fantasy team so far!

      Reply
    • Get Off My Mound

      1 month ago

      Come up with something new. You’re tired shtick grew old way too long ago.

      1
      Reply
      • johnrealtime

        1 month ago

        Many sports fans are afflicted with a condition that makes them repeat the same joke/pun constantly until they die. It is a terrible thing

        2
        Reply
        • Get Off My Mound

          1 month ago

          It really is. It’s a real shame these type of people have no concept of real comedy and timing.

          Reply
        • MiggyforMVP

          2 weeks ago

          I’m sorry you didn’t like my comment. I wasn’t trying to offend anyone, and I am truly a Shintaro Fujinami fan.

          Reply
        • johnrealtime

          2 weeks ago

          We were replying to statman. The negativity wasn’t directed at you @MiggyforMVP

          Reply
        • MiggyforMVP

          1 week ago

          Okay! Thank you for clarifying!

          Reply
  3. Rsox

    1 month ago

    24 ER’s in 15 innings is a rough way to start a career. However, the A’s knew when they signed him that control was an issue.

    It is baffling how utterly bad the A’s pitching staff is. The starting rotation is 0-11, the bullpen is 4-7 and the only pitcher that seems to be able to win a game is out with anxiety. The ’23 A’s pitching staff is the pitching equivalent of the ’22 Tigers offense

    2
    Reply
    • CravenMoorehead

      1 month ago

      He plunked 3 batters too. Control issues are clearly evident.

      2
      Reply
      • Philly A's

        1 month ago

        I dont have the stats, but his control was usually better over the first 2 innings in the games I watched.

        But being demoted on this A’s roster is not a good sign for future SP roles.

        Reply
      • Ham Fighter

        1 month ago

        One time a few years ago in Japan he hit 3 straight batters in a row 2 in the head causing a brawl

        1
        Reply
  4. Dumpster Divin Theo

    1 month ago

    Fujinami- can’t spell fun w/o him. The hapless As are finally playing with some reckless abandon-Refreshing to see them put up an 11 spot vs a sleepy Angels club including guy running thru a stop sign, evading a tackle from his 3b coach in the process

    3
    Reply
  5. Dumpster Divin Theo

    1 month ago

    A fun win for the As on FS1. Sure they’ll finish at least 49 games out but there’s kind of a Major League vibe to that clubhouse. Journeymen like Rooker going off

    4
    Reply
    • SODOMOJO

      1 month ago

      I’m deeply moved

      Reply
    • CNichols

      1 month ago

      I really wanted to see what Rooker could do when the Padres had him last year because he has like 60+ grade power and the potential to hit a ton of bombs, but unfortunately they only played him in like 2 games and moved on.

      Glad he’s getting an extended look and an opportunity to show what he’s capable of now. His walk and strikeout rates are crazy right now compared to his career norms in the minors (like 2x what they normally are) so he’s going to regress some, but if he can maintain some improvements in those areas with his pop he could end up being a great pickup for the A’s.

      Reply
  6. Vince Ferragamo's Dog

    1 month ago

    How do u say AAA in Japanese ?

    Reply
    • Old York

      1 month ago

      @Rafael Landestoy

      二軍 (Pronounced: Ni-Goon)

      They don’t really have a full Single-A through Triple-A system, but that’s the equivalent. Bauer is currently playing in that section of their system so he can build up his pitch count and speed.

      Reply
  7. Candlestoked

    1 month ago

    上がる以外に方法はありません。

    Reply
    • paleobros

      1 month ago

      You said it!

      Reply
    • DCartrow

      1 month ago

      I don’t speak German. What did he say?

      1
      Reply
      • Candlestoked

        1 month ago

        Sorry! There’s no way but up!

        Reply
  8. ArianaGrandSlam

    1 month ago

    He will be a very good disposable reliefer especially for their losing games and that’s a lot of games for this team.

    Reply
    • LordD99

      1 month ago

      His arm may fall off.

      Reply
  9. WideWorldofSports

    1 month ago

    literally means nothing

    Reply
  10. Mitchell Page

    1 month ago

    Thank you because it just messes up the whole staff with the six man . Plus the A’s need a strong arm in late innings .

    Reply
  11. Wagner>Cobb

    1 month ago

    I know he’s been bad, but this makes no sense. They already suck, might as well see if he can figure it out over the course of a couple of months.

    Reply
  12. Vince Ferragamo's Dog

    1 month ago

    Common man, give the guy a chance ! A’s R so cheap they neglected to get Shintaro an interpreter, just winging it w/ ‘Japanese4 Dummies’ book in dugout :/

    Reply
  13. metsfan1992

    1 month ago

    Definitely a trade piece come deadline this year

    Reply
  14. StephCurryRetiresWith8Rings

    1 month ago

    I called this. I bet he will be much better in this role.

    Reply

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