Washington Nationals Exec Reveals Why International Free Agent Was Appealing to Team

Recently, the Washington Nationals made some franchise history when they agreed to a deal with international free agent pitcher Shinnosuke Ogasawara.

After several failed attempts to build a pipeline into Asia, the team was able to agree to a two-year, $3.5 million deal with Ogasawara, the first free agent the team has been able to sign out of the area.

A big reason that the Nationals were unable to make progress previously was that they didn’t have the necessary relationships built to get a deal across the finish line.

That changed with Ogasawara, who is represented by WME Sports. One of the agents working there is Bryan Minniti, who worked as the assistant general manager alongside Mike Rizzo from 2010-2014.

Minniti helped the team get a meeting with the left-handed pitcher and they made the most of the opportunity, convincing him that Washington is the right place for him.

Transitioning from the Nippon Baseball League to Major League Baseball will have its difficulties. The ball used is different and there will be an adjustment working on a five-day schedule instead of seven, should he make the rotation.

There is also the language barrier and culture shock of being in the United States for the first time that Ogasawara will have to adapt to.

But, the Nationals are doing everything they can to make the transition as smooth as possible. And despite those presumed obstacles for him to overcome, there is a lot that they like about him as a player.

“Like a lot of players from the Japanese major leagues, he’s (made his scheduled starts) every year,” Rizzo said, via Mark Zuckerman of Masn. “I think the last four or five years, he’s thrown 150-160 innings as a starter. He’s got a good pitch mix, and a good repertoire to be a starter. And he’s shown that he has durability and longevity that allows us to believe he’ll be a starting pitcher for us.”

Durability is something that Washington has received from their pitching staff in recent years. There isn’t a team in MLB that has had to use as few starting pitchers as the Nationals, who have had only 10 different pitchers start a game the last two campaigns.

Of course, that means there will be competition for Ogasawara to earn one of those five spots in the rotation.

MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin look locked into spots. Veteran Trevor Williams, who re-signed with the club as a free agent this winter, and free agent addition Mike Soroka, have both been told they will be starters.

That could leave one spot up for grabs between Ogasawara and the likes of DJ Herz, Mitchell Parker, Jackson Rutledge and Cade Cavalli in Spring Training. Eventually, Josiah Gray will factor into the mix as well once he he cleared from rehab.

That is a lot of competition for the international free agent to compete against, but the organization is confident that he can get the job done.