Red Sox Reportedly Among Finalists For Japanese Star Fireballer To Improve Rotation
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The Boston Red Sox have been busy this offseason.
Boston has made some intriguing moves and has been tied to even more players it wasn't able to lock down deals with. One way the Red Sox are looking to improve is in the starting rotation and the team reportedly is one of four finalists for star Japanese hurler Shintaro Fujinami, according to JapanBall's Yakyu Cosmopolitan.
Fujinami has spent his entire professional career to date with the Hanshin Tigers since making his professional debut in 2013. The right-handed pitcher has been known for his blistering fastball that even topped 101 miles per hour.
Boston already has signed a major Japanese star in outfielder Masataka Yoshida and was connected to pitcher Kodai Senga before he ultimately agreed to a deal with the New York Mets.
The 28-year-old went 3-5 with a 3.38 ERA to go along with 65 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings across 16 starts for Hanshin in 2022 but holds a career ERA of 3.17 across his 10 years of professional baseball in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.
Boston currently has some question marks in its rotation. The Red Sox currently have Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, James Paxton, Garrett Whitlock, Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello, and Tanner Houck all fighting for spots in the starting rotation. There's no way to know for sure what the rotation will look like in 2023 right now with injuries and a roller coaster of play to take into account, but Fujinami could make an impact.
Although he has track record of subpar command, he has an electrifying arm that could make for an intriguing back-of-the-rotation piece. If he's able to sort of his walks -- which may be overblown in general -- he could provide a high reward for the Red Sox.
Starting pitching may not be at the front of Boston's front office's mind right now after the news of Trevor Story missing time due to elbow surgery, but adding Fujinami to the mix could help propel the rotation to another level.
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