Former Orioles Trade Deadline Addition Goes Back Overseas

What the Baltimore Orioles are expected to do ahead of this season's trade deadline is a complete 180-degree turn compared to where they have been the last two years.

Shocking everyone in 2023 with how well they played in the first half of the campaign, the Orioles acquired players with the aim of bolstering their roster, something that helped them secure a 101-win season and the first seed in the American League.

A player they traded for during that campaign was Shintaro Fujinami, a flamethrowing right-handed pitcher from the then-Oakland Athletics.

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Fujinami, a Japanese international, was posted by his team -- the Hanshin Tigers -- during the offseason ahead of the 2023 campaign, where he signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Athletics to be a starting pitcher.

He had a rough go of things in that role, and eventually he was converted into a reliever.

While Fujinami had an ERA of 8.57 at the time of his trade, he performed much better out of the bullpen and appeared to be a piece Baltimore could use down the stretch.

Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way.

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He posted a 4.85 ERA and 85 ERA+ in 30 appearances for the Orioles, struggling with his command by walking 15 batters in 29 2/3 innings pitched while striking out 32.

That caused Baltimore to leave him off their postseason roster, and when the year ended, they didn't pursue a reunion.

2023 was the last time Fujinami pitched in a Major League Baseball game, with him suffering a shoulder injury early on in 2024 with the New York Mets that prevented him from getting called up later in the year.

He also couldn't crack the MLB roster with the Seattle Mariners this season before he was released on June 17.

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Now, instead of searching for more opportunities across Major League Baseball, he has decided to return to Japan by signing with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, according to an announcement from that team.

It will be interesting to see what's next for Fujinami.

He had major success during his time in Nippon Professional Baseball, owning a career 3.41 ERA across 10 seasons, being named to the All-Star Game four times and leading the Central League in strikeouts once.

At 31 years old, there's a chance he could try to play his way back into an opportunity stateside at some point, but his lack of success could make that a tall task.

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