Shintaro Fujinami, a pitcher from Japan, and the New York Mets formalized their $3.35 million, one-year contract on Wednesday.
Fujinami is a right-hander who is 29 years old. He may make an extra $850,000 in games through performance bonuses: $250,000 for games 40, 55, and 60, and $100,000 for games 35 and 36.
In order to recover from a ruptured right ACL he suffered on December 10 while competing in the Dominican Winter League, New York placed infielder Ronny Mauricio on the 60-day injured list.
After signing a $3.25 million, one-year contract with Oakland, which included a $100,000 performance incentive, Fujinami left the Central League team Hanshin Tigers of Japan. Last year, after going 0–4 in the rotation, he was demoted to the bullpen and went on to make three more starts in June. After being dealt to Baltimore on July 19, he quickly established himself as a much more successful reliever with the AL East champion Orioles, going 2-0 in 30 appearances with a 4.85 ERA and two saves.
With a fastball that can reach 98–99 mph, Fujinami pitched seven starts and fifty-seven relief innings before finishing 7-8 overall with a 7.18 ERA. He walked 45 in 79 innings while striking out 83, demonstrating a lack of control.