Theron W. Henderson/Getty Images
The Baltimore Orioles have announced that they are acquiring right-hander Shintaro Fujinami from the Oakland Athletics. John Heyman of the New York Post.
MLB.com Mark Feinsand Oakland will reportedly welcome Triple-A pitcher Easton Lucas.
Fujinami is 5-8 with an 8.57 ERA and 4.94 FIP in 49.1 innings. He also averaged 9.3 strikeouts and 5.5 walks per nine innings.
Not only did general manager Mike Elias resist the prospect of acquiring him at the 2022 MLB trade deadline, he also started Jorge Lopez and Trey Mancini.
After the deadline, Elias told reporters that the Orioles will be more aggressive later in the season and said, “It’s a takeoff for this team.” Fans remembered those comments when free agency came and went without the front office making significant improvements.
Now that Baltimore is tied for first in the American League East, continuing that upward trajectory will be even more difficult.
Fans aren’t expecting Elias to push all the chips in this year. However, the Orioles have a deep farm system where they can find ready-made talent without depleting their resources.
Lucas isn’t even among the top 30 prospects on MLB.com.
Fujinami is a savvy low-cost gamble as he seems to be getting more settled in MLB.
The 29-year-old’s ERA was slightly skewed in April with 26 earned runs allowed over six innings. Since then, he has allowed a 3.84 FIP and a .393 opponent slugging percentage, per Baseball Reference.
Ben Palmer @Benjapalmer
Very interesting
Fujinami has the dirtiest stuff but definitely has some control issues. He also has a 3.66 FIP with a 3.26 ERA since the start of June
There’s certainly potential here, and Easton wouldn’t lose much by trading Lucas away, who’s definitely worth a shot. https://t.co/jI1vBQkh7C
If current trends continue, Fujinami will play a major role in the second half of the season. If his struggles return, the Orioles won’t be out much.
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