Shintaro Fujinami is being moved to the bullpen after struggling in his first four major league starts with the Oakland Athletics.

Fujinami is 0-4 with a 14.40 ERA. He allowed eight runs on seven hits, with three walks, a hit batter and two wild pitches in 2 1/3 innings during Saturday's 18-3 loss at the Texas Rangers.

"It's tough. We gave him four outings," Mark Kotsay said. "His fastball and splitter can be devastating and in shorter stints. We're hopeful to get him out there to build his confidence back up and just continue to grow from there."

Fujinami, 29, signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with Oakland after spending 10 seasons with the Central League's Hanshin Tigers.