Is Shintaro Fujinami’s dream still alive? Boras says he still wants to return to MLB.

This summer, Japanese star Shintaro Fujinami opted to continue his career in Japan’s professional league, concluding his time in American baseball. Yet, on the 18th, Japanese media revealed that his aspiration to play in the Major Leagues remains alive. His representative, Scott Boras, mentioned in an interview that Fujinami still aims to compete in MLB.

Fujinami entered American baseball in 2023 through the posting system but only saw significant playing time in his first season, where he appeared in 64 games with an earned run average (ERA) of 7.18. After the season, he spent time developing in the minor leagues, yet his pitching stats over two years there were still unsatisfactory, with an ERA of 5.89. His last stop before returning to Japan was with the Seattle Mariners, who released him this summer.

After returning to Japan, Fujinami signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, but his contract runs only through the end of this season. With Yokohama swept out of the Nippon Professional Baseball postseason climax series by the Hanshin Tigers in a best-of-six format, his 2025 season has officially concluded.

However, in an interview with Japanese media today, Fujinami’s American agent Boras clearly expressed that Fujinami still wants to challenge the Major Leagues again: "We will definitely keep looking for opportunities. As long as his arm stays healthy, the possibility always exists."

Since returning to Nippon Professional Baseball, Fujinami has appeared in six games, starting in four of them, posting an ERA of 4.09. Over 22 innings pitched, he struck out 19 batters but also issued 11 walks, indicating that control remains an area needing improvement.