Diamondbacks Frontrunners To Land 6'6" Japanese Pitcher

While all eyes are on Kodai Senga coming over from Japan this offseason, there is another hot pitcher who has also been posted by his Nippon League team that is gaining plenty of interest.  Shintaro Fujinami, a 6'6" starter/reliever, is favored to land with the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

The story appears to suggest an AAV of $2 million or more. The #Dbacks would also be responsible for a posting fee of 20 percent of the contract's guaranteed value. Fujinami is represented by Scott Boras.

— Jesse Friedman (@JesseNFriedman) December 10, 2022

The right-hander posted a 2.77 ERA in 107.1 IP in the NBP this past season, striking out 115 batters. He's suffered from control problems on occasion, walking over four batters per nine innings throughout his 10-year career. He has a lifetime 3.17 ERA.

Fujinami is looking at a salary with an average annual value of about $2M. Certainly nothing close to what Senga will be receiving.

In addition to the D-Backs, the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox are also in pursuit.

He was posted on Dec. 1st, so major league teams have until Jan. 15th to work out a deal, or he'll return to the Hanshin Tigers for 2023.