Mets' Failed Bullpen Experiment Could Be Royals' Perfect Bounce-Back Candidate
The Kansas City Royals are sure to have an offseason checklist, and improving the bullpen will likely be penciled in at the top.
It was fairly obvious all season that the Royals didn't have enough firepower at the back end of their bullpen to win a championship, and that manifested itself in the playoffs. The Royals lost two of their four games against the New York Yankees last week thanks to late runs in tied games against relief pitchers.
For the Royals to truly assert themselves as World Series contenders in 2025, they'll need to grab at least one more high-end reliever. But finding those relievers can be tricky, and paying them can be expensive, which becomes wasted money quickly if their effectiveness dips at all.
There is one intriguing relief pitching candidate who ended up not throwing a pitch at the big-league level in 2024 that the Royals could consider. That's Japanese fireballer Shintaro Fujinami, who signed with the New York Mets on a one-year contract last winter, but only appeared in games in the minors while recovering from injuries.
On Thursday, Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors reported (via Japanese outlet Sponichi) that Fujinami was planning to play winter ball in Puerto Rico this year, giving interested clubs like the Royals a chance to see if he's found his stuff again.
"If (Fujinami) looks healthy... he could land an invite to spring training next year and compete for a job in a big league bullpen," Adams said. "MLB clubs are constantly drawn to power arms of this nature, so a non-guaranteed deal should be there if Fujinami is healthy and shows some semblance of improved command."
Fujinami, 30, didn't have great stats in his 2023 rookie season, which was split between the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, but he impressed with his fastball, which regularly eclipsed 100 miles per hour. He began as a starter but walked too many batters to continue in that capacity, setting himself up as a reliver long-term.
In 79 big-league innings, Fujinami has 83 strikeouts. There's elite relief pitcher talent in there, and the Royals could be the team to harness it. It's unfortunate for Fujinami that things didn't work out with the Mets this season, but that could be the stepping stone to bigger and better things down the road.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org