Shintaro Fujinami (New York Mets), who was in rivalry with Shohei Ohtani (aged 30, LA Dodgers) during his amateur days, is continuing his decline. If this continues, he will likely be released from the Minor League, let alone returned to the Major League.

After starting this season with the New York Mets' minor league Triple-A team (Shirakuse Mets), Jinami is struggling with a 13.50 ERA without losing or losing, pitching 5.1 innings in a total of 7 games as of the 26th (Korea time).

Detailed indicators are not good either. During the period, he struck out seven but allowed as many as 11 walks. The WHIP, which refers to the ratio of runners allowed per inning, stands at 2.81. It means that he throws nearly three pitches per inning. He threw 10 consecutive balls as he had a hard time controlling his ball control in the game on Saturday.

After taking the mound as the team's fourth pitcher in the game, Jinami left the mound after allowing three runs on one hit and four walks with only one out.

After entering the Major League through a posting system (closed bidding) last year, Jinami played for two Baltimore teams that he traded with his original team Oakland, achieving a season record of 7-8 with a 7.18 ERA. At first, he signed with Oakland as a starter, but later moved to the bullpen as he revealed chronic problems with poor control.

Fujinami became a free agent after the season ended and signed a one-year contract with his current team, the New York Mets, for $3.35 million (W4.6 billion) in mid-February.

As indicated by the size of the contract, the New York Mets have recruited Fujimi as their primary resource. However, despite appearing in five exhibition games this spring, he was undefeated with a win-free record and an ERA of 12.27. As a result, the Mets gave him time to improve his control in Triple-A, the Minor League, instead of joining the Major League opener.

However, even though it has been almost a month since the opening of the Minor League, Fujimi's ball control shows no signs of abating. If this atmosphere continues, chances are high that the Mets will soon release Fujimi from the 40-man roster of the Major League Baseball.

This is because it is more realistic to fill the position with a player who can spend even if it means losing money rather than wasting a spot on the 40-man Major League roster with a resource that cannot be spent by paying a lot of money.

Fujinami is famous for forming rivalry with Ohtani during his amateur days in Japan. After making his professional debut with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's professional baseball league in 2013, he recorded 14 career wins in 2015. His NPB career record was 57-54-11 holds, with an ERA of 3.41.

Fujinami, once Ohtani's rival, should now worry about being released from the minors, let alone returning to the majors.