Nats expect Ogasawara to earn spot in Opening Day rotation

Shinnosuke Ogasawara isn’t the first Japanese player Mike Rizzo has scouted, or even attempted to sign. The Nationals have been trying to make inroads in Asia for years but, according to Rizzo, had been unsuccessful at building the kind of meaningful relationships needed to seal the deal.

How did they finally break through and get Ogasawara to agree to a two-year, $3.5 million contract, the club’s first acquisition of a free agent from Asia? Thanks to the combination of the 27-year-old left-hander’s status and availability, and the fact Rizzo and the Nats did in this case have an established relationship with his agents.

“With this particular player, we liked the skillset,” Rizzo said. “We liked (that) the age fits our timeline, that type of thing. And in this particular case, we did have a relationship with the agency. And that made us more attractive for him to choose us, rather than some other team this time.”

Ogasawara is represented by WME Sports, including agent Bryan Minniti, who just so happened to be Rizzo’s assistant general manager with the Nationals from 2010-14. Thanks to that connection, the Nats were able to get through the front door, meet with Ogasawara and pitch him on the idea of coming to Washington.

Part of that pitch was the promise of a shot at making an Opening Day rotation that suddenly looks more crowded than most expected. The Nationals have already signed veteran free agents Michael Soroka and Trevor Williams this winter, with each right-hander saying he expects to start for the team. They join holdovers MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin, plus promising young lefties DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker. And with 2020 first-round pick Cade Cavalli potentially ready to return from injury at some point, and 2024 Opening Day starter Josiah Gray targeting a return from elbow surgery before season’s end, club officials are likely to have some decisions to make this spring.

“Having too many good starting pitchers is a good thing and not a bad thing,” Rizzo said. “There’s going to be competition, and the five best who can go north with us, we’ll certainly do that. And we’ll make decisions about the other guys depending on how many there are, what their timeline is for further development.”

The external scouting reports on Ogasawara, who is more of a strike-thrower and weak-contact inducer than a power pitcher, have suggested he may be best-suited in the bullpen long-term. The Nationals, though, believe his track record with the Chunichi Dragons (including a 3.12 ERA and 1.199 WHIP over 144 1/3 innings last season) suggests he can start for them in the big leagues.

“Like a lot of players from the Japanese major leagues, he’s (made his scheduled starts) every year,” Rizzo said. “I think the last four or five years, he’s thrown 150-160 innings as a starter. He’s got a good pitch mix, and a good repertoire to be a starter. And he’s shown that he has durability and longevity that allows us to believe he’ll be a starting pitcher for us.”

The Nationals gave Ogasawara a major league contract, albeit one without a major financial commitment. He’s scheduled to make $1.5 million this year, then $2 million next year, according to a source familiar with the terms. They also must pay his Japanese club a $700,000 posting fee.

The transition from Nippon Professional Baseball to Major League Baseball can be smooth, but it can also involve some hiccups, especially for pitchers. They must adapt to a different ball, a five-day throwing schedule instead of the seven-day schedule typically used in Japan and the culture shock of coming to America for the first time.

The Nats intend to do everything they can to help make that transition smooth for Ogasawara. Pitching coach Jim Hickey and pitching strategist Sean Doolittle will work with him on adapting his pitch usage and shape, encouraging more four-seam fastballs up in the zone. Teammates will welcome him into the clubhouse with open arms. He’ll have a translator to help him communicate with other players, coaches, trainers and media members.

“It’s difficult when you don’t speak the language, and when you’re the only Japanese player in the clubhouse and on the field,” Rizzo said. “So it’s going to be our job to make him feel comfortable and make him feel at home.”

If, for whatever reason, the Nationals decide Ogasawara isn’t big league-ready by the end of spring training, he could be optioned to Triple-A Rochester to get more experience before eventually making his debut. But that’s not the club’s intention at this point.

“We signed him to be a starting pitcher for us in the big leagues,” Rizzo said. “Of course, he’ll have to earn that spot in the rotation. I think there’s going to be great competition for the five spots in the rotation by some good, young, talented players. If he’s not ready for the big leagues, then we could always option him to Triple-A and bring him up sometime during the season. But we anticipate him battling out for a rotation spot, and I think it’s going to be a fun competition to watch.”