Shintaro Fujinami eager to face longtime rival Shohei Ohtani

OAKLAND — A lot more baseball fans in Japan might be tuned into the Green and Gold this season.

More than 40 reporters, cameramen and photographers jammed into the A’s offices at Jack London Square on Tuesday as Oakland introduced its newly-signed right-hander Shintaro Fujinami to the media. The 28-year-old right-hander was flanked by super agent Scott Boras, A’s general manager David Forst, manager Mark Kotsay and interpreter Issei Yamada.

While he’s known simply as Shintaro back home, he said it’s easier if we just call him “Fuji” stateside.

“Like Mt. Fuji,” Fujinami said.

There is immense interest in Fujinami’s foray into the MLB after the 10-year career he put together in Japan. He broke into Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 2013 as a prized teenaged high schooler, along with a fellow draftee named Shohei Ohtani. Fujinami made four straight NPB All-Star teams to begin his career before losing command of his pitches and shuttling between the Majors and Minor Leagues the past few seasons.

After he lowered his walk rate to a career low 7.6 percent last season for the Hanshin Tigers, the 28-year-old requested to be posted. The A’s reportedly signed Fujinami to a $3.25 million deal for 2023 and will also pay Hanshin a $650,000 posting fee, bringing the total signing cost to $3.9 million.

Fujinami and Ohtani have been viewed as rivals dating back to their high school days, as they competed in Japan’s famed Koshien high school baseball tournament. Now they’ll be divisional foes, as Ohtani remains a two-way superstar for the Los Angeles Angels.

“No doubt about it. I’m very excited,” Fujinami said. “We’re the same age. Obviously, he’s one of the best players in the world. For the Japanese fans, it’ll be very exciting for us to play against each other. I’m very excited.”

Fujinami said he’s spoken with San Diego Padres righty Yu Darvish and Minnesota Twins righty Kenta Maeda about making the transition from NPB to MLB. Aside from Ohtani, Fujinami singled out Chicago Cubs right-hander Seiya Suzuki as another Japanese star he’s eager to face.

Ohtani and Fujinami should have plenty of opportunities to go head-to-head. The A’s and Angels will play each other 13 times this season, including a three-game series to begin the season. Though Fujinami has been used as a reliever and starter in recent years following his decline, the A’s say they envision him as a rotation piece in 2023.

“It was important for him to have a chance to be a starter,” Forst said. “We’ve seen him perform in Japan. I expect he’ll be in the rotation. Obviously, we have a lot of questions to answer about our rotation overall. But with his track record and the way he pitched down the stretch for Hanshin, we know he’ll be an important part of our rotation.”

In all, Oakland could have 11 different guys competing for five rotation spots. Beyond ace Cole Irvin, it seems up for grabs. Paul Blackburn (right middle finger) and James Kaprielian (AC joint) are recovering from injuries but should have the inside track to be in the starting rotation.

Fujinami finds himself in the mix with others like top prospects Ken Waldichuk, who was acquired in the Frankie Montas trade, and Kyle Muller, who was acquired in the Sean Murphy trade. Forst confirmed that A.J. Puk will still be stretched out and get a crack as a starter in spring training. Oakland also signed 34-year-old Drew Rucinski to a one-year, $3 million deal after he spent the past four seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League. From there, the A’s also have some young up-and-comers like JP Sears and Adrian Martinez, along with Adam Oller.

Despite the long list of possible options, Forst said he doesn’t envision the A’s going to a six-man rotation.

“It’s nice to have a lot of options, certainly,” Forst said. “We feel like we do have a deep rotation. What we lack in experience we have in talent, we believe coming up. Fuji will give us both of those.”

Fujinami sports a blazing fastball that has been clocked in the triple digits, along with a sharp slider and splitter that has been key to his success. In 2022, he made 16 NPB appearances, posting a 3.78 ERA in 66 innings pitched with 65 strikeouts, 21 walks and a 1.19 WHIP. He said he’s confident he has found his command after struggling with it from 2017-21.

“My velo went up and I learned new breaking balls, my command got better too,” Fujinami said. “I have confidence in command of my breaking balls, splitter, fastball. All of ‘em.”

Fujinami arrived in the Bay Area last week and got a tour of the area with A’s staff. They were happy to find out that Fujinami was excited about playing at the aging Oakland Coliseum, as he called it the highlight of his sightseeing.

“We’re in good shape then,” Forst quipped.

The plan is for Fujinami to return to Japan Wednesday to begin his visa process. The A’s are confident that he’ll be back “early” to Arizona to get acclimated before pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 15.

The A’s have been quietly active this offseason, signing pitchers like Fujinami and Rucinski to help bolster the rotation, along with veteran reliever Trevor May (one year, $7 million). Oakland also added veteran utility men Aledmys Garcia (two years, $14.5 million) and Jace Peterson (two years, $9.5 million) in free agency this offseason. The A’s are also high on outfielder Esteury Ruiz, who was acquired in the Murphy trade and could start the season in center field.

Boras has been a busy man this offseason, getting huge deals with clients like Carlos Correa and Justin Verlander this winter. But the showman/super agent was happy with this humble pact, too.

“I didn’t realize we brought Mt. Fuji to the Bay Area,” Boras said. “Moving mountains, I guess.”

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