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

MLB's annual international signing period opened Wednesday and while the baseball world awaits Roki Sasaki's decision, the Athletics swooped in to sign a touted Japanese two-way player. The A's signed 18-year-old Shotaro Morii to a minor-league contract with a $1,

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 Wednesday to a minor league contract with the Athletics that includes a signing bonus of $1,