WASHINGTON — At the end of the 2022 season, the Yomiuri Giants in Japan offered Foster Griffin the opportunity to start and after three up-and-mostly-down years in the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays systems, the left-hander was ready to accept.

The only problem was that the Blue Jays still had contractual control and viewed him as a useful depth arm, the reason they acquired him in July 2022 from the Royals for farmhand Jonatan Bernal in the first place. Eventually, after a series of conversations between Griffin and GM Ross Atkins, he was granted his release four months later. He signed with the Giants and his path to an all-star season with the Washington Nationals this year was underway.

“When the opportunity from overseas came, it was kind of a no-brainer for me,” Griffin said in an interview on Tuesday. “I felt like I might have a little bit of time in the big leagues with the Jays (in 2023), but it was more going to be as an if-you-need role, just the way the roster was set up. I was grateful to have some actual heart-to-heart conversations with Ross about the future of my career, the opportunity for me to go make some money overseas. They wanted me to be a starter, so it was a really good opportunity. Had some difficult but really good conversations with Ross and ultimately he was willing to let me go.”

During his three seasons in Japan, when he posted a 2.57 ERA in 315.2 innings over 54 games with 318 strikeouts and a 1.033 WHIP, Griffin reinvented himself, adding a sinker, sweeper and splitter to his fastball, cutter, curveball and changeup. Each new offering was the result of pitching as a starter, adapting to what was happening amid the need to produce immediate results.

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