Mets add relievers Shintaro Fujinami and Jake Diekman, sources confirm
Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Shintaro Fujinami. Credit: AP
The Mets have added more versatility to their bullpen, signing hard-throwing Shintaro Fujinami and lefthander Jake Diekman to a pair of one-year deals, a source confirmed Friday.
With Fujinami, the Mets will try their hand at solving a puzzle the A’s and Orioles couldn’t quite crack last season, hoping they can mend the control issues that marred his rookie season. Diekman, 37, is a 12-year veteran who will join Brooks Raley as a second lefty arm in the bullpen.
Fujinami’s deal is for one year and $3.35 million plus $850,000 in appearance-based incentives, the source said. He also has a minor-league option. Diekman will make about $4 million with a vesting option for 2025. Both signings are not yet official.
Fujinami, who came from Japan’s Hanshin Tigers last year and averaged 98.4 mph on his fastball in his first major-league season, can add distinct firepower to a bullpen that didn’t throw one pitch over 100 mph in 2023. He’s a potentially potent weapon in a relief corps that will welcome back closer Edwin Diaz, who routinely hits triple digits.
Fujinami, 29, joined the A’s rotation last season before being moved to the bullpen. The righthander, who had a 7.18 ERA in 79 innings and an unseemly 12.6 walks per nine innings, undoubtedly can blow hitters away when he can spot his fastball.
He did become more effective as the season wore on, pounding the strike zone and pitching to a 4.76 ERA in the second half, mostly after he was traded to the Orioles in mid-July. His main issue was inconsistency; at one point he did not allow a run in 11 of 12 outings spanning from Aug. 20 to Sept. 17 before regressing to his previous form. He eventually was left off the Orioles’ playoff roster.
Diekman, who had a 7.94 ERA in 13 first-half appearances with the White Sox last year, had a 2.18 ERA and a 10.5 K/9 ratio after his midseason trade to the Rays. The Mets’ talks with Diekman appeared to accelerate after former Yankees lefthander Wandy Peralta signed a four-year deal worth $16.5 million with the Padres on Wednesday.
The moves come on the heels of another bullpen addition, with president of baseball operations David Stearns re-signing Adam Ottavino to a one-year, $4.5 million deal last weekend. With Tim Healey
and David Lennon
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
