The Orioles are including to their bullpen.
Baltimore on Wednesday acquired right-handed reliever Shintaro Fujinami from the Oakland Athletics in change for Triple-A left-hander Easton Lucas, the staff introduced early within the night.
Fujinami, 29, is 5-8 with an 8.57 ERA in his first main league season after signing a one-year, $3.25 million cope with the Athletics this previous offseason out of Japan.
He encompasses a fastball that may attain triple digits, however command has been a priority all through his skilled profession.
Fujinami struggled mightily as a starter to start the season, however the 6-foot-6 pitcher has been wonderful out of the bullpen the previous two months. In 18 1/3 innings since June 5, he has a 2.45 ERA and 19 strikeouts in contrast with six walks.
Lucas, 26, has a 2.73 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk this season. He dominated with the Baysox to strike out 38.7% of opposing hitters earlier than his promotion to Norfolk, the place he’s allowed six runs in 12 2/3 innings. The Orioles acquired Lucas in December 2019 from the Miami Marlins for infielder Jonathan Villar.
To make room for Fujinami on Baltimore’s 40-man roster, the Orioles designated nook infielder-outfielder Josh Lester for project. Lester went 4-for-22 in a brief stint within the majors this season and hit .273 with an .830 OPS in Triple-A.
More than a decade in the past, Fujinami was one of many high younger gamers in Japan alongside one other wunderkind: Shohei Ohtani. Fujinami and Ohtani, the two-way star now with the Los Angeles Angels, first performed in opposition to one another as excessive schoolers in 2012. They performed collectively on Japan’s youth nationwide staff and have been chosen in the identical Nippon Professional Baseball draft.
As Ohtani pursued the two-way path, Fujinami had extra success early in his NPB profession than the longer term 2021 American League Most Valuable Player. However, as Fujinami’s profession progressed, his management and consistency worsened, whereas Ohtani grew to become a nationwide sensation, signing with the Angels and turning into the perfect participant on the earth.
In December, NPB’s Hanshin Tigers posted Fujinami, permitting main league groups to signal him to a contract. Fujinami, who’s a free agent after this season, opened the yr in Oakland’s rotation regardless of struggling throughout spring coaching. In 4 begins with the lowly Athletics, he went 0-4 and allowed 19 hits and 12 walks in 15 innings. He was moved to a reduction position and has posted a 6.03 ERA in 34 1/3 innings since. Over the previous six weeks, he’s walked simply 8.2% of batters whereas placing out 26%.
With a mean four-seam fastball velocity of 98.0 mph, Fujinami would be the second-hardest-throwing pitcher within the Orioles’ bullpen behind nearer Félix Bautista and his 99.1 mph heater. Similar to Bautista, Fujinami additionally sports activities a splitter as his major secondary pitch, though the latter’s is about 4 mph more durable than the previous’s. Fujinami additionally throws a cutter and a sweeper, however he’s largely relied on his four-seamer and splitter throughout his latest success.
The commerce is the Orioles’ first for a serious leaguer through the 2023 common season. They acquired left-hander Danny Coulombe from the Minnesota Twins on the ultimate day of spring coaching and left-hander Cole Irvin from the Athletics in January. Coulombe, 33, has been the Orioles’ third-best reliever this season — behind setup man Yennier Cano and Bautista — with a 2.70 ERA. Irvin has cut up the season between Norfolk and Baltimore; he’s now the Orioles’ lengthy reliever and has a 5.40 ERA.
The transfer for Fujinami comes a bit of below two weeks earlier than MLB’s commerce deadline on Aug. 1. Bullpen assist was seen because the Orioles’ most evident want, as their center reduction has proven cracks in latest weeks. Each of their previous 4 losses — two versus the Los Angeles Dodgers this week and two in opposition to the New York Yankees earlier than the All-Star break — featured at the least one center reliever struggling. However, whereas Fujinami might actually bolster Baltimore’s bullpen, particularly if he pitches the way in which he has lately, he wasn’t thought-about one of many high relievers available on the market.
Baltimore has 4 relievers on the injured record — left-hander Keegan Akin, right-hander Austin Voth, right-hander Mychal Givens and right-hander Dillon Tate. Tate has but to pitch within the majors this season, whereas Givens has tossed simply 4 ineffective innings. Neither is anticipated again earlier than the commerce deadline. Akin and Voth each struggled in center/lengthy reduction roles with the Orioles earlier than their accidents.
Given the variety of relievers on the shelf and the significance of a lockdown bullpen in a playoff race, it’s nonetheless potential the Orioles purchase one other reliever earlier than the deadline.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com