A’s Trade RHP Shintaro Fujinami to Orioles for LHP Easton Lucas

July 19th, 2023

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland A’s traded right-handed pitcher Shintaro Fujinami to the Baltimore Orioles for minor league left-handed pitcher Easton Lucas, the club announced today.

Fujinami was signed by the A’s as a free agent on Jan. 13 out of Japan and went 5-8 with an 8.57 ERA and .807 opponents OPS in 34 games, including seven starts, with the A’s.  He began the season in the starting rotation and went 0-4 with a 14.40 ERA in four starts before moving to the bullpen.  After posting a 12.19 ERA and .884 OPS over his first 18 games, Fujinami compiled a 2.45 ERA and .645 OPS over his last 16 appearances dating back to June 5.

Lucas has split his season between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk and is a combined 1-0 with a save and a 2.93 ERA in 21 relief appearances.  He has held the opposition to a .174 batting average and has walked 13 while striking out 38 in 30.2 innings.  The 26-year-old left-hander was originally selected by Miami in the 14th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft and was traded to the Orioles following the 2019 season for Jonathan Villar.  Lucas is 8-4 with three saves and a 3.98 ERA in 93 games, including nine starts, in four seasons in the minors.  He has 194 strikeouts and 60 walks in 160.2 innings.