Elephant Rumblings: A’s sign two-way Japanese player Morii

A couple fun and interesting prospects joining the organization

Good morning A’s fans and happy Thursday to you all.

Yesterday was the official opening of the 2025 international signing period. Most teams added some solid international players that scouts believe could be impact players in just a few years. The Athletics got in on the fun yesterday and signed one of the more intriguing players available, two-way Japanese youngster Shotaro Morii:

The club dished out a $1,510,000 million deal to secure Morii’s rights and now the team has him locked up. The Athletics were reportedly in a bidding war with other teams for Morii per reports from all the way back in October, and now the A’s have him signed, getting the rare win in a bidding war with other teams using money. Big shocker if you haven’t been keeping up with the Athletics this offseason.

It’s a rare decision from a young Japanese player as they usually begin their pro careers in their home country before even considering making the jump to America. The thought is that they can build their reputation and earn a larger payday down the road if they take the long route but Morii will instead jump right into pro baseball in the United States after finishing his high school career. There have been more players making the jump directly to the US in recent years, most notably Japan’s all-time high school home run leader Rintaro Sasaki, who is attending Stanford and will be draft eligible next year.

The deal is also the largest bonus ever for a Japanese amateur not in the Nippon Professional League and Morri deserves it. Over the past three seasons in high school Morii, who bats left but pitches right-handed, has displayed impressive power, hitting 45 home runs while displaying a smooth swing with impressive balance. He paired that exciting power in the batter’s box with an eye-catching fastball that’s already clocked as high as 95 MPH. He also has a curveball, slider, and a forkball in his repertoire of pitches, though those need some work. Add in the fact that he plays the premium position of shortstop and it’s easy to see why he’s been so coveted.

Had Morii forgone the international draft, many believed that he would have been a top-10 pick in the NPB Draft, perhaps as high as top-5. Entering yesterday he was ranked the #23 prospect among international players, per Fangraphs.

The current plan right now is to continue having Morii develop as a two-way player, per assistant general manager Dan Feinstein:

That was apparently a sticking point for the young high schooler during negotiations. He wants to be able to continue to try developing as a two-way player, and he cites the success of mega-super-ultra star Shohei Ohtani as a reason he wants to continue trying to grow on both sides of the ball, though he knows he’s nowhere even close to ShoTime:

“Shohei is really a baseball player far away from me right now,” Morii said, adding a goal was “to get closer to him as soon as I can.”

And why not? Morii is just 18-years old so it might be a while before we see him donning the Green & Gold in the major leagues, but he’ll be able to spend his entire first pro season at that age. The club will let him try to work on both hitting and pitching during these early years of development and see where we’re at with him in a couple of seasons. He has personally set the lofty goal of making it to the big leagues within three years. Wouldn’t that be something.

Many scouts believe that his future is ultimately in the batter’s box as a middle infielder. That strong arm that allows him to throw gas on the mound will surely help him on the left side of the infield but how he develops as a fielder will be another thing worth monitoring as he develops his game and rises the minor league ranks. Add in to all of that, Morii looks like a possible steal of a potential star. Feinstein had this to say about Morii:

“He’s a very talented baseball player with enough athleticism and mobility to play both shortstop and pitch,” Feinstein said. “But beyond his physical ability, the thing that jumped out at us the most is his passion for the game and his unwavering desire to be one of the next great players from Japan.”

We will take that! The early plan is for Morii to return home for a bit before reporting to the A’s in March for Minor League Spring Training, followed by a likely stint in the Arizona Complex League. He’s already started taking English classes as well so he seems highly motivated to make the transition to the United States as easy as possible for himself. He’s going to be really exciting to watch develop and hopefully one day make an impact for this organization. Can’t wait to get our first look of him on the field for us.

Welcome aboard Shotaro!

A’s Coverage:

• Athletics officially sign young Japanese two-way star to minors deal
• A’s expected to land four of top-100 prospects in international period
• Lawrence Butler has sights set on All-Star Game in hometown
• Former A’s reliever Wendelken signs with Padres

MLB News & Interest:

• Track key deals from International Signing Day
• Free agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim not expected to be ready for Opening Day
• Latest on Mets, Pete Alonso
• Yankees reportedly looking to acquire left-handed reliever
• Giants have had recent talks with FA outfielder Randal Grichuk
• Nationals sign Frenchy Cordero to minors deal
• Red Sox acquire Blake Sabol from Giants
• Former reliever Daniel Bard planning comeback bid
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Rickey’s Celebration of Life will be open to the public:

Some more prospects the team added during yesterday’s frenzy:

If Dallas is intrigued then so should you!