On Friday, September 29, 2023, in Baltimore, during the ninth inning of a baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox, relief pitcher Shintaro Fujinami of the Baltimore Orioles throws. (AP Image)
PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida:Shintaro Fujinami, a pitcher from Japan, and the New York Mets finalized their $3.35 million, one-year contract on Wednesday.
Fujinami is a right-hander who is 29 years old. He can make an extra $850,000 in games through performance bonuses: $250,000 for games 40, 55, and 60, and $100,000 for games 35 and 36.
In order to recover from a torn right ACL he suffered on December 10 while competing in the Dominican Winter League, New York placed infielder Ronny Mauricio on the 60-day injured list.
After signing a one-year contract worth $3.25 million with Oakland, which included a $100,000 performance bonus, Fujinami left the Central League team Hanshin Tigers of Japan. After going 0–4 in the rotation the previous year, he was moved to the bullpen and went on to make three more starts in June. On July 19, he was traded to Baltimore, where he quickly established himself as a much more effective reliever for the AL East champion Orioles, going 2-0 in 30 appearances with a 4.85 ERA and two saves.
With a fastball that can reach 99 mph, Fujinami pitched seven starts and fifty-seven innings of relief, finishing 7-8 overall with a 7.18 ERA. He walked 45 batters in 79 innings while striking out 83, demonstrating a lack of control.
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