Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /Allsport
Trade season is officially underway.
Last night, the Baltimore Orioles, who have been surging as of late and have recently knocked the Tampa Bay Rays out of first place, made a move to shore up their bullpen.
The first-place Orioles acquired right-hander Shintaro Fujinami from the Oakland Athletics.
In exchange, Baltimore sent minor league left-hander Easton Lucas back to Oakland.
The Orioles took Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers by a final score of 8-5.
Shortly after the conclusion of the game, Baltimore made the move to add Fujinami.
On Twitter, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was the first to break the news.
The Orioles are acquiring RHP Shintaro Fujinami from the A’s, per source.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 19, 2023
Fujinami is not having a great season.
In 34 appearances, the 29-year-old right-hander is 5-8 with an ERA of 8.57 over 49.1 innings of work.
However, he appears to have turned a corner recently.
In his last 15 appearances, he owns a record of 3-2 and has posted an ERA of 2.70, allowing just five earned runs over 16.2 innings of work.
His most recent appearance in a game came on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox, a game in which he allowed just one hit over a scoreless inning.
After selling at last year’s deadline, Baltimore looks prepared to take a shot at buying and making a run towards the postseason.
They own a record of 58-37 and now lead the AL East by virtue of winning percentage.
Fujinami should be a huge addition to their bullpen as they prepare for the stretch run of the 2023 season.
The Orioles will soon open up a series against the Rays.
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