Former Baltimore Orioles Flamethrowing Reliever Agrees to Deal With Mets

The Baltimore Orioles will officially see one of their former relievers playing for another team after a short stint with the organization.

The Baltimore Orioles shocked the baseball world when they pulled off a trade for Corbin Burnes that gives them the ace they were looking to land all offseason.

This adds to the already high excitement level that's been surrounding the franchise since they won the most games in the American League last year.

The Orioles tried to buy low on a piece at the trade deadline in 2023 when they acquired Japanese pitcher Shintaro Fujinami from the Oakland Athletics.

He was a star in Japan, being selected No. 1 overall by four separate teams in Nippon Professional Baseball's 2012 draft. The Hanshin Tigers won the draft lottery and were able to sign Fujinami to their team.

The right-hander was elite early on, making three-straight All-Star Games before falling off a bit during the latter portion of his career overseas.

Fujinami eventually wanted to play Major League Baseball and was posted by the Tigers in December 2022.

He signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Athletics, something that was surprisingly low for someone with his previous talent level.

With Oakland, he struggled early on as a starter, posting an ERA of 14.40 across four starts before being moved into the bullpen.

Eventually, he was traded to the Orioles where he was used as a reliever in 30 games and had a much better showing with a 4.85 ERA across 29 2/3 innings pitched. But the flamethrower still struggled with his command and was subsequently kept off the ALDS roster.

Baltimore allowed him to walk in free agency and really had no interest in signing him, despite looking at bullpen arms throughout the winter.

According to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, Fujinami has agreed to a deal with the New York Mets that is for one year and $3.35 million with $850,000 coming in incentives.

The talented pitcher will look to get his Major League career on track with the Mets as he should be featured in their bullpen.