This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ A’s Beat newsletter, with this edition handled by MLB Pipeline's Jesse Borek.

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

Shotaro Morii, 18-Year-Old 2-Way Player, Bypasses Japanese Baseball to Sign With Athletics Hoping to become a two-way player in Major League Baseball just like Shohei Ohtani, 18-year-old Shotaro ...

Could the next Shohei Ohtani be on the Athletics? The A’s signed 18-year-old Japanese two-way player Shotaro Morii to a minor league contract, which included a $1,510,500 million bonus ...

Shotaro Morii to a record-setting deal, with a $1,510,500 bonus. Who is Shotaro Morii, and how and why did the small-market (which market?) club get theirs hands on him? As reported in The ...

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 ...

Shotaro Morii is an 18-year-old two-way player who is widely considered one of the best players in his Japanese high school class. But rather than embarking upon a pro career in Japan, like ...

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 ...

Here's a look at Shotaro Morii and what he could bring to the table for the Athletics. Morii is an 18-year-old shortstop and pitcher who signed with the A's as an international free agent on ...

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 ...