Shintaro Fujinami Signs With NPBs Yokohama DeNA BayStar

Former big leaguer has returned to Japan. He signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Profe sional Baseball, the team . The hard-throwing righty was released from a minor league deal with the Mariners last month. This probably marks the end of Fujinamis two and a half seasons in affiliated ball. The 66 righty has an upper-90s fastball but hasnt been able to harne s his stuff. The rebuilding As took a one-year, $3.25MM flier on Fujinami in advance of the 2023 season. They initially gave him a rotation opportunity, but he struggled mightily in seven Marcus Morris Sr. Jersey starts and quickly moved to the bullpen. While Fujinami had an 8.57 ERA in 34 appearances with the As, they managed to flip him to the Orioles at the trade deadline. He tallied 29 2/3 frames of 4.85 ERA ball for Baltimore. Fujinami secured a big league split deal from the Mets in his return to free agency. He never made an MLB appearance with New York, spending time on the injured list before being designated for a signment. Fujinami pitched in Puerto Rico over the winter to land another affiliated opportunity. He secured a minor league contract with Seattle in January but struggled to a 5.79 ERA with 26 walks in 18 2/3 Triple-A innings. Hell now head back to NPB, where he owns a 3.41 earned run average in parts of 10 seasons. Jay Scrubb Jersey