Hoping to become a two-way player in Major League Baseball just like Shohei Ohtani, 18-year-old Shotaro Morii made the rare decision to bypass Japanese professional baseball entirely and agreed to a minor league contract with the Athletics that includes a signing bonus of $1,

Japanese baseball stars have almost exclusively come to MLB after playing in NPB. Morii is breaking precedent by signing with the A's.

Just two hours after the 2025 international signing period opened on Jan. 15, the Athletics made a splash. The team announced they officially signed 18-year-old Japanese sensation Shotaro Morii to a minor league deal accompanied by a $1.

The Athletics have signed a Japanese player who is being compared to the current Major League Baseball (MLB) superstar, Shohei Ohtani. Just like the Los Angeles Dodgers' phenomenon, who has snagged two MVP awards in his MLB career,