A's variation on Shotime pitches, hits and plays the infield!
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There may never have been, and there may never be, another international signing of a player as buzz-worthy and game-changing as when Shohei Ohtani signed with the Angels back in December 2017. But the A’s are hoping they can create their own Shotime with their two-way sensation signed for seven figures out of Japan: Shotaro Morii.
Morii joined the organization in January 2025, signing at age 18 for just over $1.5 million. To date, both during a debut last summer in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League and back in the ACL for a brief stretch to start out this season as he made his way back from a minor hamstring issue, he’s only hit in game action.
All that is about to change. Morii is headed for the Single-A California League and will make his full-season debut with the Stockton Ports on Tuesday. The plan is for him to both hit and pitch for the first time, and he’s doing something his more famous counterpart in Los Angeles hasn’t really done: He’ll be playing the field as well.
Ohtani has seen a handful of innings in the outfield, none since 2021 with the Angels. Morii will split his time on the mound and the dirt at second base. He was signed as a shortstop and played 23 games there in 2025, but while he has the tools to stick at the premium position, the decision was made to protect his arm, for however long he can keep this going, by moving him to the right side of the infield.
“He is attempting to do something that is very difficult,” A’s farm director Ed Sprague said. “His offensive game is ahead of his pitching, but he has a great arm and is committed to doing both. I think he could have stayed at shortstop for a while if he just played on one side of the ball, but we both felt like second base would lessen the workload.”
While everything is somewhat tentative and the A’s will adjust as needed based on how Morii responds to playing both ways, the plan is basically for him to hit three or four times a week, sometimes at second, sometimes as the designated hitter. He’ll make his Stockton debut at the DH on Tuesday. Then he's expected to play second base on Saturday and serve as the DH again on Sunday.
On Thursday, he’ll make his professional pitching debut, a planned one-inning start as they allow the right-hander to build himself up. He’ll pitch Thursdays and slowly build out to a max of three innings. Fridays will be an off day for recovery for the teenager and he’ll get side throwing sessions in on Saturdays.
As a hitter, Morii has already shown off a smooth left-handed swing (like Ohtani, he throws right-handed, hits left-handed), with good feel for the barrel and some raw power to tap into. Evaluators have said he’s more like a raw high school pitcher on the mound with a fastball that tops out at around 94 mph. He's working to find secondary stuff that works for him, fiddling with both a curve and a slider. His splitter is his best non-fastball offering, while the athleticism that makes him a solid infield prospect should help him repeat his delivery and throw strikes.
Another thing Morii is doing that Ohtani never has done is play in the Minor Leagues. There is, of course, a wide chasm between performing as a two-way player at the Major League level and doing it in A ball. But Morii and the A’s are committed to making this experiment work.
“He has been hampered with some minor injuries to start his career, so we will take it slow as he progresses to pitching and playing a position in the pro game,” Sprague said. “We are excited to see him get out to an affiliate and get started.”