Seventeen-year-old Shotaro Morii could be the next great Japanese star in MLB. The two-way player will skip the 2024 Nippon Professional Baseball Draft and look to sign with an MLB team in international free agency, according to Yakyu Cosmopolitan.
Since Morii is a foreign player, MLB teams can sign him as an international free agent with funds from the international bonus pool. Had he chosen to take the path through NPB, he would have to play nine seasons before signing freely, or he would have to be posted.
Morii is a two-way star in Japan. He hit 45 home runs in high school and can throw 95 mph, according to Yahoo Japan.
Bull-pen FB
151km/h (93.83mph)#uncommitted #classof2025 pic.twitter.com/lSXgnu5TSq— Shotaro Morii (@ShotaroMorii) March 5, 2024
Among the teams interested in Morii is the Dodgers. The Dodgers are no strangers to Japanese two-way players, as they have Shohei Ohtani. Unlike Morii, Ohtani found his path to the majors through NPB. The Dodgers signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto from NPB as well last offseason.
Morii told Yakyu Cosmopolitan that Ohtani is the ideal player he would like to follow, but he doesn’t consider them the same. He thinks being in the United States from the start will be a strength, and he wants to find his own strengths as a player.
_____
WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
Image Courtesy of Shotaro Morii on X
