Are Diamondbacks in on Scott Boras Client Shintaro Fujinami?

The Japanese pitcher has tantalizing stuff that could be a good fit for the D-backs bullpen

In search of power arms to overhaul their bullpen, the Diamondbacks have emerged as one of the favorites to sign Scott Boras client Shintaro Fujinami. (first reported by Nikkan sports). Posted by the Hanshin Tigers of the Japan Central League on December 1st, teams have 45 days to make a deal or he will be returned to the Tigers.

Fujinami is the ultimate boom or bust "stuff" pitcher, and fits the model the D-backs are after. He has a fastball that usually sits in the mid 90's but can occasionally top out at 100 MPH. His secondaries are a splitter and a slider, which have tremendous movement. 

He has the following career line with the Tigers:

Shintaro Fujinami Career Stats / Baseball Reference

Providing some context, below is a comparison of MLB vs. JPCL league average ERA over the span of the last 10 years. The JPCL would be considered a pitcher's league compared to MLB

MLB and JCL League ERA Comparison / Jack Sommers

Career Story

These stats don't begin to tell the story of this pitcher however. He first burst on the scene in 2013 as a 19 year old rookie, posting a 2.75 ERA in 138 innings, striking out 126 and only walking 44. His peak season was 2015, going 14-7 with a 2.40 ERA in 199 innings across 28 starts. 

Things started to back up on him somewhat in 2016. Infamously in Japan, his manager inexplicably left him in a game on July 8th to throw 161 pitches over eight innings giving up eight runs. He's never quite been the same. Over the next five years he split time between the Tigers JPCL team and their farm team in the JPWL. Between 2017-2021 he experienced near Rick Ankiel level control problems, walking an astonishing 178 batters in just 258 innings, or 6.2 batters per nine innings. He also plunked 20 batters during that span and was charged with 22 wild pitches.

He seemed to have recovered his control in 2022 however. In 67 JPCL innings he walked just 21 batters and struck out 65, putting up a 3.38 ERA. 

According to the Nikkan article Fujinami indicated that while he would prefer to be a starting pitcher, he is open to being signed as a reliever.  In either case he seems like the ultimate change of scenery candidate, and there is no bigger change of scenery than moving from Japan to the MLB.  

Posting System

Whereas previously there was a hefty $20 million posting fee that teams had to pay on top of whatever salary was negotiated for a player, that has since been changed to a percentage of the contract. The fee structure looks like this

• Less than $25,000,000 = 20% 

• Between $25-50,000,000 =  20% on first $25M, then 17.5% on the amount over 25.

• Over $50,000,000 = 20% on first $25M, then 17,5% on next $25M, then 15% on any amount over $50M

So for example if the Diamondbacks were to sign him for a total value contract of $10 million, over however many years, they would also have pay a $2M posting fee. Just how much Fujinami might get is impossible to estimate accurately. The Nikkan article states a figure of $2 million per year but that seems low and it's not clear at all how many years are being discussed. With Scott Boras as agent and the Red Sox and the Giants reported to be among the teams that will bid for his services, the price tag may escalate before it's all said and done.

The most successful signing of a Japanese player by the Diamondbacks was Yoshihisa Hirano. Signed to a two year, $6 million dollar contract in 2018, Hirano had a great season in 2018, posting a 2.44 ERA in 66 innings. He fell off in 2019 however when his ERA ballooned to 4.75 in 53 innings. Signing a player like Fujinami seems to fit very well with the types of creative moves D-backs GM Mike Hazen often tries to make in order to work around the payroll limitations he usually faces.