Shintaro Fujinami

[wildcard]

10 hours ago, interloper said:

Who would you rather have, Baker or Fuji? 

I'm kinda on team Fuji if we're putting it that way. They're kind of similar. You feel ok about either guy if the bases are empty, but terrible if there are guys on base. 

Baker will go to AAA and can be called up when needed and send down when needed.    Will Fuji do that?   He is probably  looking for a contract that keeps him in the majors IMO.

Edited December 20, 2023 by wildcard

[Tony-OH]

The problem with Fuji was he's a box a chocolates. You never quite know what you are going to get with him. Do you get the unhittable Fuji or do you get the one that can't throw a strike? 

He was pretty good with the Orioles at times and then he would have an absolute implosion game. It was so inconsistent that the Orioles didn't even want him on the playoff roster. 

Would I take him back on a split contract as depth, sure, but I think someone will give him a guarantee contract for more than he's worth because he's tantalizing. What if he can put it together more often in relief? What if they can get him to throw less waste pitches? 

I don't think a contending team like the Orioles can take that chance with anything guaranteed. 

[Frobby]

23 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

The problem with Fuji was he's a box a chocolates. You never quite know what you are going to get with him. Do you get the unhittable Fuji or do you get the one that can't throw a strike? 

To me, his problem is mechanical.  He has that long pause where he’s balanced on one leg, and it makes it difficult to land the plant foot in the same spot every time or just stay balanced coming down the hill.   And a one inch difference in the landing spot of your plant foot is probably a twelve inch difference in the location of the ball once it reaches home plate.   Someone needs to work with him to get his legwork more consistent.   If that doesn’t happen, he’s always going to be a box of chocolates.  

[Tony-OH]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

To me, his problem is mechanical.  He has that long pause where he’s balanced on one leg, and it makes it difficult to land the plant foot in the same spot every time or just stay balanced coming down the hill.   And a one inch difference in the landing spot of your plant foot is probably a twelve inch difference in the location of the ball once it reaches home plate.   Someone needs to work with him to get his legwork more consistent.   If that doesn’t happen, he’s always going to be a box of chocolates.  

He was 29-years old and has been with many, many pitching coaches. If they haven't been able to fix him by now, he's not fixable from a mechanical standpoint in my opinion. 

He had good stretches with the Orioles in relief but he just wasn't a guy you felt good about in a close game. That doesn't mean he wasn't good in some of those high pressure situations, just that with his walks, you just never really felt good with him on the mound. 

If I'm a rebuilding team you can take a flier on him, but I don't think he's a contending team guy because of his penchant to implode.

[Frobby]

8 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

He was 29-years old and has been with many, many pitching coaches. If they haven't been able to fix him by now, he's not fixable from a mechanical standpoint in my opinion. 

He had good stretches with the Orioles in relief but he just wasn't a guy you felt good about in a close game. That doesn't mean he wasn't good in some of those high pressure situations, just that with his walks, you just never really felt good with him on the mound. 

If I'm a rebuilding team you can take a flier on him, but I don't think he's a contending team guy because of his penchant to implode.

I agree 100% with this.  

[SilentJames]

50 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I agree 100% with this.  

I think he gets the spring to show consistency, I would give him April but a short leash. 

[sportsfan8703]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

He was 29-years old and has been with many, many pitching coaches. If they haven't been able to fix him by now, he's not fixable from a mechanical standpoint in my opinion. 

He had good stretches with the Orioles in relief but he just wasn't a guy you felt good about in a close game. That doesn't mean he wasn't good in some of those high pressure situations, just that with his walks, you just never really felt good with him on the mound. 

If I'm a rebuilding team you can take a flier on him, but I don't think he's a contending team guy because of his penchant to implode.

I agree with all of this but I also see a situation where this makes sense. If Wells is in the rotation, then that leaves us a little thin with RH relief depth. Pretty much the same situation when we traded for Fuji. Just Kimbrel for Bautista. 

Fuji has been here. Our coaching staff knows him. He’s comfortable here. Not a big media market. Not a lot of media scrutiny. Our fans aren’t going to boo him like in NY. Low pressure. Not a lot big contract and big expectations. 

He’d be our “joker” “wildcard”. Almost like a rule 5 guy. We have a strong roster and clubhouse. We’re not really counting on him, and we could build up his confidence. That’s why I think ST is so important. He can be with our guys the whole time and get into some games that aren’t high pressure. Let him get comfortable in a defined role, which seems like something he’s been struggling with his whole career. 

But with all of those rainbows and butterflies… Fuji has to be willing to accept Givens level money. 1yr/$3millionish. 

[Rbiggs2525]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

To me, his problem is mechanical.  He has that long pause where he’s balanced on one leg, and it makes it difficult to land the plant foot in the same spot every time or just stay balanced coming down the hill.   And a one inch difference in the landing spot of your plant foot is probably a twelve inch difference in the location of the ball once it reaches home plate.   Someone needs to work with him to get his legwork more consistent.   If that doesn’t happen, he’s always going to be a box of chocolates.  

I do agree it’s mechanical but also agree it may not be fixable. The pause is something a lot of Japanese pitchers do. I think it’s a weight distribution thing taught there. I would have liked to see what the “Pitching Lab” could have done with a full offseason. 

[sportsfan8703]

1 minute ago, Rbiggs2525 said:

I do agree it’s mechanical but also agree it may not be fixable. The pause is something a lot of Japanese pitchers do. I think it’s a weight distribution thing taught there. I would have liked to see what the “Pitching Lab” could have done with a full offseason. 

Over here in the U.S. it’s confidence. He’s not a SP. He’s a FB/SPL relief pitcher. Like most relievers, he’ll be better with a defined role. So 6th/7th inning guy. We’ve had lots of good relievers cut their teeth on the B side of the bullpen until they earned bigger situations. 

[Can_of_corn]

13 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Over here in the U.S. it’s confidence. He’s not a SP. He’s a FB/SPL relief pitcher. Like most relievers, he’ll be better with a defined role. So 6th/7th inning guy. We’ve had lots of good relievers cut their teeth on the B side of the bullpen until they earned bigger situations. 

So a guy has command issues in the NPB and MLB.

Somehow the issue is mechanical in Japan but confidence in the US?

Can you walk me through your thought process and feel free to skip over you thinking he looks uncomfortable on the mound unless you have evidence he never looked that way in his NPB days.

My take is that he's never been able to consistently command his stuff and he probably won't ever get there.

[sportsfan8703]

8 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

So a guy has command issues in the NPB and MLB.

Somehow the issue is mechanical in Japan but confidence in the US?

Can you walk me through your thought process and feel free to skip over you thinking he looks uncomfortable on the mound unless you have evidence he never looked that way in his NPB days.

My take is that he's never been able to consistently command his stuff and he probably won't ever get there.

He was never a reliever in Japan, meaning that is the role I think he could have confidence in here as a FB/SPL reliever.  That could solve the mechanical issues with simplification and a defined low pressure role  

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=fujina000shi
 

I respect your take that he’ll never have command, but I think has strictly a MR with a FB/SPL arsenal, that he would have a better chance with his command issues. Aim for the middle of the plate and let the FB move. Of course he’ll give up some homers like his first pitch in TB, but over 162 he’d be worth 3 million in that role. It’s a chance. 

It’s just a unique situation. I think he’s the only reliever that we would give a deal to over the MLB minimum. 

Honestly, other than this potential reunion and a waiver claim or two, our offseason is probably done. This would be a move to build around the edges of the roster. Not to reshape a season. 

Edited December 20, 2023 by sportsfan8703

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

He was never a reliever in Japan, meaning that is the role I think he could have confidence in here as a FB/SPL reliever.  That could solve the mechanical issues with simplification and a defined low pressure role  

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=fujina000shi
 

I respect your take that he’ll never have command, but I think has strictly a MR with a FB/SPL arsenal, that he would have a better chance with his command issues. Aim for the middle of the plate and let the FB move. Of course he’ll give up some homers like his first pitch in TB, but over 162 he’d be worth 3 million in that role. It’s a chance. 

It’s just a unique situation. I think he’s the only reliever that we would give a deal to over the MLB minimum. 

Honestly, other than this potential reunion and a waiver claim or two, our offseason is probably done. This would be a move to build around the edges of the roster. Not to reshape a season. 

Am I reading this wrong?  I'm seeing a lot more games pitched than games started.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=fujina000shi

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by Can_of_corn