Japanese RHP Fujinami to be posted (source)

The Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball group have posted 28-year-old pitcher Shintaro Fujinami, a supply informed MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi on Thursday. Interested MLB groups have 30 days to achieve an settlement with Fujinami, or he’ll return to NPB for the 2023 season.

Fujinami, a 6-foot-6, 180-pound right-hander, encompasses a fastball that reaches triple digits on the radar gun and was in comparison with present Angels two-way celebrity Shohei Ohtani on the mound when the 2 emerged from the identical NPB draft class in 2013.

Inconsistency has marked Fujinami’s decade in Japanese skilled baseball — over his first 4 seasons, from age 19-22, his ERA fluctuated between 2.40 and three.53, and he persistently had strikeout-per-nine-innings charges between 8 and 10. But in 2017, his stroll fee jumped to 16.6 p.c, resulting in a demotion to the Minor Leagues.

Fujinami continued to wrestle together with his management by 2021, shuttling between the Minors and the NPB. Last season, he rebounded in 16 NPB begins, pitching to a 3.38 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP whereas decreasing his stroll fee to 7.6 p.c.

Given his historical past, it will likely be fascinating to see what kind of contract the very best MLB bidder is prepared to supply Fujinami. According to the Japanese posting guidelines, the Major League membership that indicators a posted participant can pay a “release fee” to the participant’s Japanese workforce of 20 p.c of the primary assured $25 million of the contract, 17.5 p.c of the following $25 million, and 15 p.c of any quantity exceeding $50 million.