Reporter Jang Hyeon-gu = Japanese pitcher Fujinami Shintaro (29) will step on the Major League Baseball (MLB) wearing an Oakland Athletics uniform.
U.S. media outlets such as ESPN reported on the 12th (Korean time) that Fujinami had agreed to a one-year contract with Oakland through a posting system (private competitive bidding), and that the contract would be established if he passed the physical examination.
ESPN and Nikkan Sports, a Japanese sports magazine, predicted that Fujinami is expected to join the starting lineup of Auckland, which is regarded as a weak team. 스포츠토토
Fujinami, along with his classmate Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Angels), has been noticed since high school as a star player who throws a fastball, but is completely behind Ohtani in the professional field.
Fujinami, who made his professional debut as a member of the Hanshin Tigers in Japan in 2013, had a career record of 57 wins, 54 losses, 11 holds, and an ERA of 3.41 until last year.
He has degenerated into a mediocre pitcher since 2015, when he won 14 games, a season-high, and pitched a season-high 199 innings pitched. From 2017, he also suffered the humiliation of losing his salary for 6 consecutive years.
In the meantime, Ohtani dominated Nippon Professional Baseball as a pitcher and hitter, created a sensation even after moving to the MLB, and completely solidified his position as the first free agent (FA) player to pioneer the $500 million era.
Fujinami, who has a sturdy physique with a height of 197 cm and a weight of 98 kg, throws fast balls, cut fastballs, and forkballs that exceed 150 km per hour, but also has a weakness that control is not well done.