Seattle Mariners Potential Bullpen Acquisition Has Been Working as a Starter in Winter Ball
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Earlier this week, the Seattle Mariners signed hard-throwing right-hander Shintaro Fujinami to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.
Fujinami was designated for assignment by the New York Mets amid a dreadful 2024 season. As he works to rebound, he's made six appearances this winter in the Puerto Rican winter league, pitching to a 3.05 ERA in 20.2 innings. He's struck out 24 batters in those innings.
Fujinami came to the United States in the 2023 season, signing with the Oakland Athletics. Though he broke camp as a starter, he quickly transitioned to the bullpen, finding more success there.
He was 5-8 with the A's, posting a 8.57 ERA. However, he had a 4.85 ERA in 30 games with the Baltimore Orioles after a mid-season trade that year. He helped the Orioles get to the playoffs and continually flashed velocity in the upper-90s and low-100s.
Because of a shoulder injury, he did not pitch at all in the majors in 2024. He was with the Mets organization as he rehabbed, going 1-2 with a 5.94 ERA across four levels. He had a 6.68 ERA with Triple-A Syracuse.
Because of his solid work as a reliever and his electric fastball, the initial thought was that Fujinami could become a weapon for Seattle out of the bullpen, but is that the plan after all?
We mentioned that Fujinami has a 3.05 ERA in Puerto Rico, well, that work has come as a starter, as was uncovered by @MarinerMuse.
Brady’s reply prompted me to look this up and Fujinami is actually STARTING again in the Puerto Rican Winter League.
— Mariner Muse (@MarinerMuse) January 17, 2025
So that’s a wrinkle to monitor as part of the Mariners’ upside play here.
WIth spring training set to begin on Feb. 12, it will be interesting to see what the M's do with Fujinami. Do they plan to use him as a traditional reliever, serving maybe a sixth-inning role in front of Collin Snider, Gregory Santos and Andres Munoz? Could he serve as a multi-inning reliever, who covers up things in case the starter struggles or the 'pen is gassed? Or, in a worst-case scenario situation, could he be the fifth starter in case the team trades away Luis Castillo later this offseason?
We'll have to find out when the team gets to Peoria.
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