The New York Mets are continuing to operate their offseason plan of not locking themselves into long-term contracts to have more flexibility in free agency for the upcoming years.
So, instead of throwing big money at the high-profile players this cycle, they are looking for some stopgap veterans and youngsters to fill the holes on their roster.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported they have done that again when agreeing to a one-year, $3.35 million contract with flamethrowing reliever, Shintaro Fujinami. $850,000 of this deal will be in incentives.
This is a very interesting addition for the Mets.
Fujinami was a superstar in Japan, getting selected No. 1 overall by four different teams before the Hanshin Tigers won the draft lottery and were able to sign him.
He dominated early on in his career, being an All-Star of Nippon Professional Baseball in three-straight seasons.
Eventually, Fujinami wanted to explore paying in Major League Baseball and was posted by the Tigers in December 2022, where he decided to sign with the Oakland Athletics on a one-year, $3.25 million contract.
For someone with his talent, this was an underwhelming amount.
However, it turned out there was a reason for that as the flamethrower struggled mightily in his first four starts, posting an ERA of 14.40.
The Athletics then moved him into the bullpen before shipping him to the Baltimore Orioles.
Fujinami appeared in 30 games with the Orioles as a reliever. He had a much better stint with them, posting a 4.85 ERA across 29 2/3 innings pitched.
When the righty hit free agency, it was initially reported he was looking for starting pitching opportunities before that was walked back and it was released he'd be open to relief roles as well.
It will be interesting to see how New York uses the former Japanese star.
There's no doubt Fujinami is ultra-talented, but it will be up to their coaching staff to unlock that in the MLB.
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