Athletics is moving right-handed Shintaro Fujinami from rotation to relief role, coach Mark Kotsay told reporters ahead of tonight’s game against the Angels (forwarded by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). Kotsay left open the possibility of eventually returning to the starting lineup but suggested the club would first “assess” Fujinami in a shorter time.
Oakland signed a one-year, $3 million contract with Fujinami over the winter. It’s one of the more engaging low-cost dice rolls of the season. Fujinami has at times displayed great arm speed and quality shots during his career in Japan. That is often combined with such a large total walk that his NPB club, the Hanshin Tigers, regularly switches him between the top team and their minor league club.
Person A gave Fujinami a job rotation to bring him to Oakland. The 6’6″ tall hurdler did 17 walks in 18 2/3 innings in Spring Training, but Player A struggled with a plan to keep him in Open Day’s starting line-up. desert. Fujinami has done it 4 times through the rotation but still has not found any success. He was allowed to run 24 times in just 15 rounds, walk 12 sticks, and surrender 19 times. Fujinami only made it through the fifth round once and lost all four rounds.
Obviously that’s not how the team nor the 29-year-old envisioned it during his first few weeks in the professional league. They will hope for better results in the short term, when Fujinami’s arsenal of power can be more effective. He averages less than 97 MPH on his fast ball and lands quite a few swing shots on both his splitter and slider. However, he did too many walks and gave up many difficult bumps in the spin.
Person A lost a member of their relief crew to an injury, yes Adrian Martinez shortlisted 15 days injured due to elbow strain while throwing. Kotsay told the repairmen that Martínez had undergone magnetic resonance imaging and would stop throwing for the next few days while the club waited for the results of the imaging (Link Gallegos). A more specific timeline will depend on the results of the MRI but it looks like he will be sidelined in two weeks.
Fujinami and the recent acquisition Ginseng Provides the ability to work multiple sets with ease. Meanwhile, it looks like another pick up in the season — KBO signee Drawing Rucinski – be able to fill alternate positions that are vacant. Rucinski has been at IL all season due to a hamstring problem. He has now made three rehab starts with Triple-A Las Vegas, hitting five innings and 72 pitches yesterday. It wouldn’t be surprising if he is reinstated for his A-list debut this weekend.
