Two Post articles on the signing. Nusbaum and Golden.
Golden:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/01/24/shinnosuke-ogasawara-nationals-japan/Ogasawara’s fastball sits in the high 80s to low 90s. But he does display strong command. He struck out only 5.1 hitters per nine innings in 2024, but he also walked only 1.4. Ogasawara’s pitch arsenal includes a fastball, change-up, slider, knuckle-curve and splitter.
One scout for another MLB organization whose coverage area includes Japan called Ogasawara a “good, low-risk signing” for the Nationals because of his upside if he can return to his form from the 2022 season, when he pitched to a 2.76 ERA.
Golden notes his posting period ran out Friday, so I'll have to assume this was the best / only offer out there and he just wanted to get to MLB to show his stuff works.
Golden views Gore, Irvin, and Soroka as rotation locks, with Williams, Ogasawara, Herz, and Parker in competition for the last couple of slots. Williams and Shino would like go to the bullpen if not in the rotation, while HErz and Parker would be likely in AAA with their options.
Nusbaum:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/01/25/nationals-shinnosuke-ogasawara-signing-flexibility/Rizzo on issues with signing players direct from the Japanese leagues via the posting system:
“You’re always on the outside looking in, because you don’t have the network there, the groundwork there that you need to have to create these relationships,” Rizzo said of the team’s investment in Japan. “We scout these players every year. We scouted Shino the last couple of seasons in Japan, and we’ve liked players in the past. We just didn’t have the relationship and the background to sell these players to come to D.C.”
With Shino, the Nats had a good relationship with his agents, WME, making DC more attractive. Nats are adding more scouting over there, seeing more players, and generally being more active and visible, per Rizzo.
Attractive things about Ogasawara - pitch mix, low walk rate, generates soft contact, durable.
More Rizzo:
He said the Nationals will discuss pitch sequencing and pitch shapes with Ogasawara, as they believe there is room for him to grow in those areas. If he needs time in the minor leagues, Washington appears to have three near-locks for the rotation (MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin and Michael Soroka) and six other arms that could see big league time (Trevor Williams, DJ Herz, Mitchell Parker, Jackson Rutledge, Brad Lord and Tyler Stuart).
Nusbaum notes that, while the Nats have added $40 million in players over the offseason, they are still about $20 million below last year's salaries per Roster Resource. REpeats a quote we've highilighted before, that the team did not want to lose a pick for a guy with a QO and did not want to block prospects. They don't view this as blocking Herz, Parker, etc... as much as adding depth and "you never have too much pitching." Rizzo thinks the staff now is deeper than its been in years.