Takeaways From Shintaro Fujinami Press Conference
It's not too often that the Oakland Athletics hold a press conference to introduce a big signing. It's also pretty rare for Scott Boras to be involved with anything the A's are up to. Both happened on Tuesday, as the A's streamed their press conference to show their fans Shintaro Fujinami, the new Japanese right-hander slated to join the rotation. GM David Forst even said "it's been awhile since we've done one of these" during his opening remarks.
The signing itself brings a bit of excitement because of the potential that Shintaro has, especially if he has truly figured out the command issues that plagued him during the past few seasons up until 2022.
As for the press conference itself, the first thing that stood out was literally Fuji, as he would like to be called. He is 6-foot-6 and looked it compared to manager Mark Kotsay, agent Boras, and Forst.
Fuji's opening remarks were made in English.
"Hi, nice to meet you everyone. I'm Shintaro Fujinami. Please call me Fuji, like Mt. Fuji. First of all, I would like to say thank you to my parents. Without their huge support I wouldn't be standing here right now. Second of all, I wanna thank [the] Hanshin Tigers for ten years of my professional career in Japan. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to pitch against the best hitters in the world. Lastly, I would like to thank [the] Oakland A's organization, the GM, David, my agent, Scott, and all the staff from Boras Corporation. I promise that I'll do my best to show you my appreciation through my performance. I'm very excited to play [with the] Oakland A's and pitch in the best league in the world. Go Oakland A's!"
The rest of the press conference Fuji used his interpreter, but the fact that he went out there and introduced himself tells you a lot about him, and the determination he has. He would later say that he needs to learn the language and the culture, because he wants to be able to communicate with his teammates so that he can fit in with the team.
The A's spent the week that Fuji had been in town showing him around a little bit, and when asked what his favorite sights were, the only one he mentioned specifically was the Coliseum. The guys over at Last Dive Bar may be in love.
Fuji has also received some advice from a couple of familiar names in Yu Darvish and Kenta Maeda, though what wisdom they have imparted remains a bit of a mystery.
Overall, Shintaro feels confident in controlling all of his pitches, and singled out his fastball and splitter by name--his two most effective pitches last season.
Part of the reason the A's landed Fuji is because of their belief in what he did in Japan in 2022, and Forst said "it was important to him to have a chance to be a starter. We've seen him perform in Japan, so I expect he'll be in the rotation."
The reports when Fuji signed said that he was expected to be in the rotation, and obviously that is still the case, but the A's GM did appear to leave some room in that statement for him winding up in the bullpen at some point. With the fastball/split combo that he has already, he could be a huge weapon in relief if the A's choose to utilize him that way, but where he ends up on the pitching staff likely comes down to his performance.
Forst also said that he believes the A's have a deep rotation and that what they lack in experience, they make up for in talent, and that Fuji has both.
When it comes to facing Shohei Ohtani, "there's no doubt about it. I'm very excited. We're the same age. He's obviously one of the best players in the world. For the Japanese fan, it'll be very exciting for us to play against each other. He would go back to this a little later, saying that one of the batters he's most looking forward to facing is Ohtani, along with Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs.
Fuji will be returning to Japan on Wednesday to work on getting his visa, and will be returning to Mesa for training camp a little early to get acclimated before his first spring training, which begins on February 15.
Notes: Forst said that the front office has done most of their work, and that they feel really good about the players they've added. There may be one or two smaller things, but the big additions are done.
The GM also said that even with Fuji likely headed to the rotation, A.J. Puk is feeling great and he's going to come to camp as a starter. "He's going to come in and compete for a spot in the rotation."
With the status of James Kaprielian, who had off-season shoulder surgery, and Paul Blackburn, who ended the season on the IL up in the air for now, the A's may have to lean on some of that starting pitching depth they have early in the season with options like JP Sears, Ken Waldichuk, or Kyle Muller.