Is there a chance that the next Shohei Ohtani will join the Athletics?
The Athletics on Wednesday signed 18-year-old Japanese two-way player Shotaro Morii to a minor league contract that includes a $1.5105 trillion bonus.
The bonus is the highest ever for a Japanese amateur outside of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. Per MLB Pipeline.
Expensive imports fuel offseason spending, including the $60 million contracts for Brent Rooker and the $67 million contracts for pitcher Luis Severino.
The shortstop and right-handed pitcher hit 45 home runs in three seasons at Tokyo's Toho Junior and Senior High School and also had a top speed of 95 miles per hour on the mound.
Morii is forgoing the more traditional path for Japanese players to end up playing on an NPB team before making the leap to Major League Baseball as a free agent or through the MLB and NPB posting processes.
“I wanted to join the professional baseball environment as soon as possible,” Morii said in a virtual press conference.
Due to his qualifications, Morii was considered a top 10 prospect in the NPB Draft and has been a two-way player since he was 8 years old.
The teenage phenom comes in at 6-foot-1 and hits 114 mph with his curveball, 77 mph with his slider and 78 mph with his forkball on the mound. According to NBC Sports Bay Area.
He molds his game after players like Jacob deGrom on the mound and Elie Delacruz at hit.
“Ellie Delacruz of the Cincinnati Reds is my favorite player,” Morii said. “He runs very fast, he has power and I love his personality.”
A accepts it.
“He's a very talented baseball player with enough athleticism and mobility to play both shortstop and pitcher,” Athletics assistant general manager Dan Feinstein said. “But beyond his physical ability, what impressed us most was his passion for the game and his unwavering desire to be one of Japan's next great players.”
Morii told reporters that while the success of Ohtani and other Japanese stars played a factor in his decision, he didn't want to compare himself to two-way superstar players, calling himself “far from me right now.” He said he calls him “Baseball Player.”
In October, reports surfaced that multiple MLB teams, including the Cardinals and Athletics, were competing to acquire Morii.
