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Munetaka Murakami

NL West Notes: Murakami, Hwang, Closers

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Munetaka Murakami came into the offseason as one of the more intriguing names on the free agent market. He slotted in at No. 4 on our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list. Despite Murakami’s prolific power in NPB, the reported interest around the young slugger was minimal as the winter progressed. The White Sox and Red Sox were among the only known suitors. Murakami ultimately went to Chicago on a modest two-year, $34MM deal.

The Diamondbacks were among the teams interested in Murakami, reports John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports. Gambadoro added that the former Japanese star was “one of a few of the Asian players” the Diamondbacks were considering. He didn’t mention any other names, but the free agent market includes several notable players making the jump stateside, including Tatsuya Imai and Kazuma Okamoto. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco predicted Okamoto would sign with Arizona in the aforementioned Top 50 FAs piece.

Arizona’s connection to Murakami makes sense given the state of the club’s corner infield spots. First baseman Josh Naylor and third baseman Eugenio Suarez were dealt to Seattle in separate deals at the trade deadline. That left Pavin Smith and Tyler Locklear (who came over in the Suarez trade) to handle the majority of the first base reps. Blaze Alexander stepped in as the primary third baseman.

Top prospect Jordan Lawlar is slated to step in at the hot corner in 2026, but first base is a question mark. Locklear had surgery on both his left elbow and shoulder in October. He’s a candidate to begin the season on the injured list. That leaves Smith and utilityman Tim Tawa as the current options at first base. Arizona finished with the 5th-lowest OPS at the position last season. With Murakami off the board, the club could look to pursue at least a right-handed complement to Smith, and perhaps an upgrade altogether.

On the pitching side, Gambadoro mentioned he expects the team to look into the closer market. Arizona will be without top closers Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk for the majority of the season. Both relievers had Tommy John surgery in June. The current closer mix is an uninspiring group that includes Andrew Saalfrank, Ryan Thompson, and Kevin Ginkel.

Arizona’s bullpen ranked 25th in xFIP and 28th in SIERA last season. The club had a whopping 17 pitchers record saves in 2025. Shelby Miller led the way with 10 saves. He was dealt to Milwaukee at the trade deadline. The Diamondbacks had four saves in the final month of the season, and they went to four different pitchers (Jake Woodford, Taylor Rashi, Kyle Backhus, John Curtiss).

Martinez and Puk won’t be out forever, so Arizona doesn’t need a long-term solution. The reliever market is beginning to thin out, but there are still a handful of options with closing experience available. Seranthony Dominguez, Ryan Pressly, or Chad Green could make sense as short-term closers who have been setup men in the past. Arizona’s Opening Day closer will likely slot in behind Martinez and Puk once they return, so experience in the 7th and 8th innings would be useful.

Elsewhere in the NL West, former Giants infielder Jae-gyun Hwang announced his retirement (h/t to J.P. Hoornstra of The Big Lead). Hwang had spent the last eight seasons with the KT Wiz of KBO. He’d been in professional baseball since 2007.

Hwang made the jump to MLB in 2017 after a decade in KBO. He signed a split contract with the Giants in January that year. Hwang posted decent results in Triple-A, hitting .285 with 10 home runs and seven steals across 98 games. He was up and down a couple of times with the big-league club, with unimpressive results. Hwang went 8-for-52 in 18 games with the Giants. He did launch a home run for his first MLB hit, taking Kyle Freeland deep in his third career at-bat.

Hwang was outrighted off the 40-man roster in September 2017. After his lone season with the Giants, the Wiz lured him back to KBO with a four-year, $7.9MM deal. He was a well-above-average hitter for the duration of the agreement and remained productive at the plate for the rest of his career, including a 94 wRC+ as a 37-year-old in his final season.

We at MLBTR wish Hwang the best in his future endeavours beyond baseball.

Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: Three-Way Trade, Murakami’s Short-Term Deal, And Willson Contreras To Boston

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

  • The Mets Sign Jorge Polanco, And The Braves, Blue Jays And Royals Make Moves – listen here
  • Winter Meetings Recap – listen here
  • An Agent’s Perspective with B.B. Abbott – Also, Cease, Williams, Helsley, And Gray – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images

White Sox To Sign Munetaka Murakami

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The White Sox have officially announced their signing of infielder Munetaka Murakami to a two-year deal worth $34MM.  ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to break the news. Murakami, a client of Excel Sports Management, will be officially introduced as a member of the Sox roster during a press conference tomorrow.

Beyond the $34MM in salary, the White Sox will also owe a $6.575MM posting fee to the Yakult Swallows, as per the rules of the MLB/NPB posting system. The fee is determined by the size of the player’s eventual Major League contract, so the $6.575MM figure is determined by 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, and then 17.5% of anything between $25MM and $50MM.

Murakami, 26 in February, arrives in the majors as perhaps the most anticipated NPB hitter to move stateside since Shohei Ohtani. The slugger set an NPB record with 56 home runs in a single season at 22 years old, and he continued to make an international name for himself with Team Japan during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. A career .270/.394/.557 hitter across 892 Central League games for the Swallows, Murakami boasts true 80-grade power that could completely change an up-and-coming White Sox lineup that already includes highly regarded youngsters like Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel.

That combination of power and unusual youth for a free agent led many to believe that Murakami would be able to secure one of the most lucrative contracts of the offseason. On MLBTR’s annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list published at the outset of the offseason, Murakami landed as the #4 free agent available with a predicted contract of $180MM over eight years. It was easy to imagine at least one team being willing to roll the dice on Murakami’s tantalizing upside in order to lock him up for his entire prime, but teams were more hesitant to commit to Murakami than expected. Few teams were publicly connected to the slugger, and reports from all corners of the baseball world indicated that teams were feeling gun-shy about his contact rate in NPB, which would’ve been the lowest in baseball in the majors last year if carried over.

While teams weren’t willing to go to the high levels expected when Murakami was first posted, it does appear that he may have left some guaranteed money on the table in taking this deal. Passan reports that some teams did try to get involved in Murakami’s market by offering long-term deals with lower annual salaries. That sort of deal would have guaranteed Murakami a longer runway to work things out at the big league level, but would have limited the financial upside available to him. Instead, he took a short-term deal that will offer him a healthy annual guarantee that’s on par with the AAV of the five-year deal Murakami’s countryman Seiya Suzuki signed with the Cubs across town five years ago.

That comes with just two guaranteed years in the majors, but if Murakami is able to establish himself he’ll head into free agency ahead of his age-28 season. That should leave him in line for a far more substantial payday during the 2027-28 offseason, should he prove himself capable as the sort of middle-of-the-order power bat he has the potential to be. For a player looking to adjust to the majors, it’s hard to imagine a more forgiving environment than the south side of Chicago. The White Sox have average 108 losses per season over the last three years and posted arguably the worst season in MLB history back in 2024. While young players like Montgomery and Teel have begun to impact the major league roster, expectations for the club could hardly be lower at this point.

While any dreams Murakami may have had of hoisting a World Series trophy in his rookie season as a big leaguer are likely to be dashed by his decision to sign with the White Sox, playing on a team with low expectations for this year should allow him a low-pressure environment to make any adjustments to his game that might be necessary in order to maximize his success without the risk of losing his spot in the lineup to another player in the midst of a pennant race.

The White Sox seem to want Murakami to be able to focus on maximizing his offense as much as possible, as the longtime NPB third baseman will be moving to first base in Chicago. Scouts nearly universally expressed skepticism about is ability to handle the hot corner at the big league level, so a move to first base should put less pressure on Murakami to prove himself as a defender and allow him to focus more fully on his work at the plate.

Should Murakami successfully prove himself in the majors, he would help anchor a budding core of young hitters for the White Sox. Montgomery and Teel both enjoyed excited seasons at up-the-middle positions last year, and they’ll be joined in the lineup by players like third baseman Miguel Vargas, second baseman Chase Meidroth, and catcher/DH Edgar Quero who enjoyed seasons last year that made them look like solid complementary pieces for the future. Luis Robert Jr. also figures to offer the Sox some star power alongside Murakami if he’s healthy enough to handle something close to a full slate of games in center field and remains on the team amid persistent trade rumors.

Taken together, it’s easy to see Murakami as the centerpiece of an offseason that has seen the White Sox take small steps towards a return to competitiveness at the big league level. The NPB star isn’t the only player the White Sox have deigned to add to the roster this winter; lefty Anthony Kay signed a two-year deal worth $12MM after his own successful stint in Japan, and the club is reportedly among the teams interested in former Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, as well. Those moves are unlikely to vault Chicago into a playoff spot by themselves, especially in a competitive AL Central where the Tigers and Guardians made it to October with Kansas City putting together a very aggressive offseason in their own right.

Immediate playoff contention, however, isn’t likely to be the expectation. Instead, these additions should allow the White Sox to foster a more competitive environment for their young core as they reach the majors and build towards playoff contention in 2027 and beyond. There’s also the plus of reinvigorating fans who have been left wanting by the team’s latest rebuild, which saw the club part with beloved players like Lucas Giolito and Garrett Crochet.

These steps forward allow the White Sox to pull their payroll out of the league’s basement. Following the Murakami signing, RosterResource projects the club for an $84MM payroll in 2026, a figure that jumps up to nearly $102MM for luxury tax purposes. That’s more or less in line with last year’s $85MM payroll and pulls the White Sox just out of the bottom five in the majors at this point. Of course, that figure is still extremely modest and leaves plenty of room for a team in a large market like Chicago to add additional salary, whether that’s a late-inning arm like Fairbanks or perhaps a veteran starting pitcher who can help anchor the club’s rotation.

White Sox, Red Sox Among Teams With Interest In Munetaka Murakami

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NPB slugger Munetaka Murakami’s posting window closes at 4pm CT time on December 22. With just over a day left for Murakami to sign with an MLB club, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the White Sox are among the teams that are presently engaged in talks with the slugger’s camp. Chris Cotillo of MassLive adds that the Red Sox have “kicked the tires” on Murakami, as well as fellow NPB infielder Kazuma Okamoto. Okamoto’s posting window closes on January 4.

Murakami’s time on the market has been unusually quiet for a player of his status. These reports of interest on the part of Chicago and Boston are the first significant reports tying Murakami to any of MLB’s 30 teams, as his representation has seemingly played things very close to the vest regarding his market. The 25-year-old has surely received interest from other clubs as well that has simply gone unreported, of course, but Murakami’s market doesn’t seem to be quite as strong as expected even when factoring in that reality.

Geoff Pontes of Baseball America suggested in an appearance on Foul Territory this past week that the slugger’s market has been “softer” than he and his representation were expecting entering the offseason. MLBTR ranked Murakami as the #4 free agent on the market this winter, predicting an eight-year, $180MM contract for the young slugger as part of our Top 50 MLB Free Agents list. That ranking accounts for Murakami’s top-of-the-scale power and extreme youth heading into free agency; Yoshinobu Yamamoto was just six months younger than Murakami when he landed a $325MM contract from the Dodgers, while the fact that Juan Soto was headed into his age-26 season was a key factor in him landing a record-shattering $765MM deal last winter.

With that said, Murakami’s low contact rates have raised some eyebrows around the baseball world since his posting, and it’s not hard to see why. The Athletic’s Eno Sarris illustrated the concerns with Murakami’s lack of contact in NPB by sharing a list of players with comparable contact rates and exit velocities in the majors in recent years. The resulting group includes some stars like Nick Kurtz (and Shohei Ohtani if the parameters adjusted to be somewhat more favorable to Murakami), but it includes a far larger group of middling players, ranging from decent regulars like Matt Wallner to early-career flame-outs like Aristides Aquino. There’s certainly reasons to believe Murakami will be a great deal better than those players, of course; his raw production in NPB is nothing short of otherworldly. Even so, the risk in the young slugger’s profile is real, and it’s not necessarily a shock that teams might shy away from giving him a massive contract until and unless he can prove his style of play works at the big league level.

Turning to the clubs with reported interest in Murakami, the White Sox are a very interesting fit. The slugger is certainly young enough to be part of the next competitive team on the south side; he’s just two years older than star rookies Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel. That makes him an intriguing fit for the Sox, especially if he signs with the club on a long-term deal. Miguel Vargas and Lenyn Sosa are the club’s projected starters at the infield corners at the moment, but neither player is locked in strongly enough to prevent the addition of Murakami.

A short-term deal could also be possible, as well; the White Sox signed Erick Fedde to a two-year deal two winters ago and rode a strong first half to secure a three-way trade involving Fedde that brought back Vargas. A similar approach could be employed here as well, at least in theory. Chicago might be a particularly appealing destination for the young slugger given their lack of competitive expectations this year; it could allow him the opportunity to make necessary adjustments at the big league level without the pressure of a pennant race, and perhaps the White Sox would be more comfortable than most clubs trying Murakami at third base despite widespread concerns about his ability at the position.

As for the Red Sox, Murakami could provide the sort of elite slugger than the Red Sox lost when they traded away Rafael Devers over the summer. That makes the fit between the sides plausible, but there are certainly questions and obstacles as well. For one, the Red Sox are entering a clear win-now window after making the playoffs last year, and might not be willing to play Murakami through any struggles that could come with his adjustment to the majors. For another, the Red Sox are already extremely left-handed and have Triston Casas in-house as a first base/DH option with plenty of upside in his own right. Boston would need to be confident that Murakami would be a substantial upgrade over Casas in order to commit significant dollars to him for the same role.

While a pursuit of Murakami from Boston can’t be ruled out, the quote from Cotillo about Boston “kicking the tires” on the slugger suggests more of a reserved approach to his market. That’s an understandable path to take, particularly given that Okamoto could be a better fit. Okamoto is older than Murakami and lacks his countryman’s elite power, but he’s enjoyed a much more steady career in NPB without contact rate concerns, offers more playable defensive skills at third base, and is a right-handed hitter who more effectively complements the Red Sox lineup. That solid fit is part of why the Red Sox have been linked to Okamoto on occasion throughout the winter, even as they pursue a reunion with third baseman Alex Bregman.

The Best Fits For Munetaka Murakami

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Munetaka Murakami will make his decision within the next five days. Japan's premier slugger is expected to sign with an MLB team after being posted by the Yakult Swallows. The 45-day process began on November 8, meaning Murakami has until December 22 to put pen to paper.

Murakami's camp has played things very close to the vest. While they've undoubtedly spent the past month speaking with teams, there hasn't been any reporting about which clubs are involved. It's inherently more difficult from the outside to project the market for players without any major league track record. A lot depends on individual teams' scouting evaluations.

That's particularly true in Murakami's case. Scouts are unanimous in praising his monster power potential. The lefty hitter drilled 56 home runs in his age-22 season a few years back. That's an outlier but he has another four seasons with between 31 and 39 longballs. That doesn't include this year, in which oblique injuries limited him to 69 games. Murakami connected on 24 homers while hitting .286/.392/.659 across 263 plate appearances -- which would have put him on a 55-60 homer pace over a full season. His exit velocities are off the charts. There's a chance he's in the Kyle Schwarber or Shohei Ohtani tier in terms of left-handed raw power.

As is often the case, the bigger question is whether he'll make enough contact to be an impact bat in MLB. Murakami has fanned a near-26% rate in his NPB career. That was up to 28.6% this year and closer to 30% in his last full season in 2024. Hitters can thrive while striking out that often -- Schwarber has gone down on strikes at a 28.8% rate over the last four years -- but Murakami's strikeout rate seems likely to climb against big league competition.

The average pitcher quality and velocity is higher in MLB than it is at the NPB level. Should Murakami be expected to strike out more than 30% of the time in the majors? Do teams expect him to punch out more than a third of the time? Scouts could have differing evaluations on Murakami's pure hitting ability.

There's little doubt that the bat needs to drive the profile. Listed at 6'2" and 213 pounds, Murakami isn't viewed as an especially rangy third baseman. He's likely to end up at first base before the end of his contract. Some teams might project him to the position on day one. Others could feel he'd be a passable third baseman in the short term, but his defense isn't likely to improve with age.

Murakami turns 26 in February. He's younger than essentially any top-tier domestic free agent, who'd need to play six full seasons in the big leagues before they can hit the market. This is a chance to add a potential prime-age superstar, but there's also massive downside given the swing-and-miss and defensive questions. It's likely that whatever deal he signs will come with one or more opt-out chances that allow Murakami to get back to free agency a few years from now if he has proven he can hit MLB pitching.

MLBTR predicted an eight-year, $180MM deal in ranking him the offseason's #4 free agent. That's admittedly without a huge amount of confidence given the challenges of projecting this profile. Let's take a look at which teams are best positioned to make this move.

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Poll: Which Team Will Sign Munetaka Murakami?

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A big bat joined the free agent market last week when the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball posted Munetaka Murakami for MLB clubs. The 25-year-old bashed 246 home runs in eight NPB seasons, including a single-season record 56 in 2022. Murakami is behind only Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette among hitters in our Top 50 Free Agents list.

Murakami isn’t without flaws, as contact and defense are question marks. The slugger has posted strikeout rates above 28% in each of the past three seasons. Murakami would be strikeout-prone if he did that in the big leagues, but in the typically lower-strikeout NPB, it’s a bit alarming. Third base has been Murakami’s home in recent years, but he might not stick at the position long-term. Scouts grade him as a middling defender who might be better suited for first base or DH.

Even with some red flags, there’s an expectation that Murakami is going to garner offers well into the nine figures. MLBTR predicted an eight-year, $180MM pact. So who will take the plunge? Here’s a look at some of the options:

Dodgers

Any time a notable free agent is discussed, the free-spending Dodgers will be in the conversation. That’s especially true when the player in question is coming over from Japan, as Los Angeles already boasts Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki. The fit, however, is less than ideal. The Dodgers have Ohtani plugged into the DH spot on a daily basis. Freddie Freeman will hold down first base through 2027. The Dodgers picked up Max Muncy’s club option and will have him at third base again next year, barring a trade. Murakami did make a start in the outfield this past season, so maybe that would be an avenue for the Dodgers to make it work, but it’d be surprising to see him signed and plugged into the outfield on a full-time basis.

Mets

We know Steve Cohen has no problem opening up the checkbook. The Mets are a fairly straightforward fit if they choose not to re-sign Pete Alonso, who opted out last week. The team has Mark Vientos and Brett Baty penciled in at the corners right now, though neither has run away with past opportunities. Ronny Mauricio will also factor into that mix. The Mets don’t have a firm option at DH either, so there’s room to add a hitter with Murakami’s profile. President of baseball operations David Stearns was spotted scouting Murakami in person this year (though several other high-profile executives did the same, so he’s hardly unique in that regard).

Yankees

The Yankees seem more likely to add on the pitching side, but they can never be ruled out in these types of free agent scenarios. Like the Dodgers, the fit for New York isn’t seamless. Ben Rice put together a breakout 2025 campaign and should be a fixture at first base, though he also made some starts at catcher last season. Ryan McMahon was acquired midseason to sure up the third base spot. Giancarlo Stanton is planted at DH. George Lombard Jr. could factor into the infield calculus soon. As with the Dodgers, the Yankees could try to make room for Murakami with a trade (e.g. McMahon, Rice), but this isn’t a clean fit as the roster is currently constructed.

Red Sox

Boston is a decent fit, especially after Alex Bregman opted out. Nathaniel Lowe is likely to be non-tendered. Masataka Yoshida, frequently manning the DH spot, has been a subject of trade speculation for the past year. Triston Casas is returning from a significant knee injury. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow didn’t exactly hand Casas the job when he gets back. “I don’t think it makes a ton of sense on October 6 to say someone is or isn’t our first baseman. We’ll see how things play out,” Breslow told reporters shortly after the season ended. A small move or two could free up space for Murakami at DH or a corner infield spot.

Cubs

The Cubs got a strong season from first baseman Michael Busch and have Matt Shaw holding down third base, though DH reps could be available depending on the plan for Moises Ballesteros. And it’s not like Shaw staked his claim to the hot corner permanently, with a .669 OPS in his rookie campaign. The Cubs are known to be in the market for rotation and bullpen help this winter, but they’ve won high-profile bidding on Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga in recent offseasons.

Blue Jays

The Jays are typically at least in the mix for every prominent free agent in a given offseason these days. They haven’t reeled in many of the highest-profile names they’ve pursued in recent offseasons, but they’re coming off a run to Game 7 of the World Series. That gives them some extra financial resources and also makes a compelling selling point to free agents who want to be sure they’re joining a contender. Toronto has Vladimir Guerrero Jr. installed at first base. George Springer will likely get the bulk of the DH reps in 2026 but is a free agent next offseason. Murakami could split time between third base, first base and DH in ’26, with Addison Barger playing right field on days he’s at the hot corner and Guerrero getting a DH breather on days when Murakami is at first base.

Padres

The Padres regularly find themselves in the bidding for star players — both established MLB names and high-profile talents making the jump from overseas. They’ve got Gavin Sheets likely to hold down first base or designated hitter but lack a clear option otherwise. The Padres have been scaling back payroll in recent years, which makes this a tougher fit, but president of baseball operations A.J. Preller could always find a creative means of opening some financial wiggle room on the trade market.

Angels

The Angels have no real answer at third base, where Anthony Rendon is finally entering the final season of his contract. Yoan Moncada and Luis Rengifo are free agents. First baseman Nolan Schanuel has held his own but hasn’t been an impact hitter. The DH spot is clogged up thanks to the glut of corner outfielders on the roster (Mike Trout, Jo Adell, Taylor Ward, Jorge Soler), but the Halos could feasibly deal one of Ward or Adell. This would be the biggest swing they’ve taken in free agency since signing Rendon to his ill-fated deal, but there’s a fit and Trout is only real long-term commitment left on the books. Only Trout and Yusei Kikuchi are signed beyond 2026 (and only Trout is signed beyond ’27).

The field

Given Murakami’s rare blend of youth, power and overseas track record, we could see a dark horse candidate emerge for his services. In terms of production, the Nationals, Cubs, Reds and Pirates ranked bottom four in OPS at third base, while the White Sox, Rockies, Marlins and Giants brought up the rear at first base. San Francisco made a splash in the international market recently, landing Jung Hoo Lee on a six-year, $113MM deal ahead of the 2024 season. It’s just hard to see where Murakami would play, assuming Bryce Eldridge has a significant role next season. It’s also possible a smaller-market team could step up and pursues Murakami as a potential face of the franchise.

Where do MLBTR readers think Murakami will land this offseason? Cast your vote in the poll below:

Munetaka Murakami’s Posting Period Begins Today

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Japanese third baseman Munetaka Murakami will be posted by the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball today, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The slugger will have 45 days to reach an agreement with an MLB team, beginning on November 8.

Murakami has long been expected to make the jump from NPB to MLB following the 2025 season. He’ll now officially become one of the most intriguing names on the free agent market. Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette were the only hitters to rank ahead of him in our Top 50 Free Agents list.

The 25-year-old Murakami has been one of the preeminent power hitters in NPB over the past seven seasons. He launched 56 home runs in 2022, breaking the single-season record held by Sadaharu Oh. Murakami slugged 246 home runs across eight NPB seasons.

Since Murakami is now 25, he is considered a professional under MLB’s international free agency rules. That means he’s free to negotiate with all 30 teams without restrictions. Players who make the move to MLB prior to turning 25 are considered amateurs and are subject to the international bonus pool system, which significantly limits their earning power.

Murakami slashed .270/.394/.557 with the Swallows, though there is plenty of swing-and-miss to his game. He struck out at least 28% of the time in each of his last three seasons. Strikeout numbers are typically lower in NPB, so that mark should be expected to rise when Murakami faces MLB pitching.

It’s unclear where Murakami will fit on the defensive side. He’s spent most of his time at third base over the past five seasons, but he also has ample experience at first base. Murakami made a single start in right field this past year. Scouts have labeled him as an average fielder who will probably fit best at first base.

“Future Dodger” is the typical response to any discussion around Murakami, as the club already has Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki. With Freddie Freeman occupying first base and Max Muncy returning to play third, Los Angeles doesn’t have an opening on the corners. Ohtani is locked in at DH. The Dodgers may have seen enough in the one-game sample this season to try Murakami in the outfield, where their options are less certain. Fellow big markets like the Red Sox, Mets, and Yankees seem like easier fits.

The team that signs Murakami will have to pay a posting fee to the Swallows. The fee is 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of spending above $50MM.

Blue Jays Interested In Bo Bichette Reunion, Rotation Upgrades

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Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins met with the media this week to discuss various topics on the heels of the club’s 2025 season, which was mostly sweet but ended bitterly. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet rounded up some of the pertinent details. Most notably, the Jays are interested in reuniting with infielder Bo Bichette and are also on the hunt for pitching. Some trade talks involving starting pitching have already taken place.

Neither detail is a big surprise. The Blue Jays are the only team Bichette has ever known. He has expressed a willingness to return and continue playing alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as the two have done for years. The Jays would surely love to have Bichette back.

The Jays were able to get through the ALDS and ALCS without Bichette, running out an alignment that usually featured Guerrero at first and Andrés Giménez at short, while Ernie Clement, Addison Barger and Isiah Kiner-Falefa split the second and third base duties.

They could run most of that crew back, though Kiner-Falefa is now a free agent. Davis Schneider could factor in at second base at times. But the Jays are surely a better team with Bichette in the lineup, especially when he’s fully healthy. He has a career .294/.337/.469 batting line and had an even better .311/.357/.483 showing in 2025.

Now that Bichette is a free agent, other clubs will come calling. Teams like the Giants, Tigers, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Mets are logical landing spots, among others. MLBTR predicted Bichette to land an eight-year, $208MM contract. The Jays have never given that kind of money to a free agent, though they did more than double that on Guerrero’s $500MM extension. With the recent revenue generated from the club’s World Series run, perhaps they make an aggressive push to bring Bichette back.

Even if the Jays do have the money to get it done, there will be the question of positioning. Bichette has largely been a shortstop in his career. As he was shelved with a knee injury late in 2025, Giménez took over that spot. Bichette got healthy enough to be activated for the World Series but was clearly not 100%. The Jays kept him at second base and put him in the designated hitter spot a few times when George Springer was hurt.

Bichette has never been a great defensive shortstop but Giménez seems to be strong there, despite being mostly a second baseman in recent years. While Bichette was willing to play second in the World Series and while still hurt, would he be willing to make a permanent move to that spot? If he would like to stick at shortstop for a few more years, would the Jays accommodate him? If not, how much would that impact his signing decision?

The non-Bichette part of the free agent market includes players such as Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suárez, Gleyber Torres, Ha-Seong Kim and others. Guys like Brendan Donovan, Brandon Lowe, Alec Bohm, CJ Abrams, Josh Jung, Nolan Gorman and others might be available in trade.

There’s also Japanese infielder Munetaka Murakami, with Nicholson-Smith listing the Jays and Yankees as two teams linked to him. He is to be posted today, so his free agency will be resolved in the next 45 days.

Murakami wouldn’t be a perfect fit for the Blue Jays. He does have massive power from the left side, something that would work well in their lineup. However, his third base defense is considered poor, with many suspecting that he will quickly wind up at first base in the majors. With Guerrero signed at first base for the next 14 years and guys like Springer and Anthony Santander lined up for DH time, Murakami would have to be shoehorned in a bit.

If the Jays do think he can hack it at third, that would bump Clement to second and Barger to the outfield. That is something that could work but it wouldn’t really leave room for Bichette, barring a trade of some kind. The Yankees also have kind of an awkward fit with Ryan McMahon at third, Ben Rice at first and Giancarlo Stanton the DH, though perhaps they could find a way to balance things by having Rice behind the plate.

Turning to Toronto’s pitching, they just got a huge boost when Shane Bieber surprisingly triggered his player option. He can now be slotted into the 2026 rotation alongside Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage. The Jays should also have José Berríos back in the mix. He finished 2025 on the injured list but Atkins said he’s in line for a normal offseason, per Nicholson-Smith.

Guys like Eric Lauer, Bowden Francis, Adam Macko, Lázaro Estrada and Easton Lucas could compete for the #5 spot but the Jays will look at add someone else. In that scenario, Lauer would come into camp as the #6 guy, which was sometimes the case in 2025. He could work a long relief role when everyone is healthy and jump into the rotation as injuries pop up. Everyone else in that cluster of depth arms is optionable and could be in Triple-A. Guys like Angel Bastardo, Ricky Tiedemann and Jake Bloss missed all or most of 2025 while injured and could work into the mix when healthy.

The free agent market features starters like Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suárez and plenty of others. Guys like MacKenzie Gore, Joe Ryan, Mitch Keller and others should be available on the trade block.

In Nicholson-Smith’s column, Shapiro didn’t give a clear answer about the 2026 payroll but he praised the support the club has received from ownership and said “I don’t see that support going backwards at all.” That’s logical because, as mentioned, the club just raked in a bunch of money from their extended playoff run.

RosterResource projects the club for a $235MM payroll next year. That’s more than $20MM shy of the $258MM they spent in 2025, per RR. If payroll stays steady, that gives the Jays some room to make a notable move, though it would obviously be easier if the budget goes up. Signing both Bichette and a notable starting pitcher, for instance, would require more than $20MM annually.

In the bullpen, there are dozens of potential players they could target, including free agents and trade candidates. They could even go after closers, as Atkins was noncommittal about Jeff Hoffman staying in that role next year, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. “The great thing about Jeff is he’s not married to that,” Atkins said. “I think he would be open to anything that makes us better.”

The Jays signed Hoffman to a three-year, $33MM deal last offseason. He saved 33 games for the Jays this year, plus two more in the playoffs, but in uneven fashion. His strikeout rate was good but he allowed 4.37 earned runs per nine, thanks to allowing 15 home runs on the year, more than in his previous three years combined. As Jays fans well know, or maybe have blocked out, he allowed a game-tying home run to Dodgers #9 hitter Miguel Rojas in the top of the ninth of Game Seven of the World Series.

Home run spikes like that can be fluky. A measure like SIERA, which controls for such things, gave Hoffman a 3.21 mark this year. Still, it’s understandable that the Jays would at least consider adding an established closer and bumping Hoffman into a setup role. The free agent market features guys with closing experience like Edwin Díaz, Robert Suarez, Pete Fairbanks and Devin Williams. Depending on the final payroll, the Jays will have to weigh those pursuits against their other targets.

As for Shapiro himself, his contract only ran through the 2025 season but it would be a shock if he weren’t kept around after such a successful season. He previously hinted that he and the club would likely work out a new deal and he gave similar comments this week. Per Nicholson-Smith, he says he and the team agreed to table extension talks during the postseason run but will “likely work something out soon.”

The coaching staff will also likely be coming back, for the most part. Per Nicholson-Smith, Atkins said there would be no “proactive subtractions,” which seems to be GM speak to indicate no one is getting fired. Bench coach Don Mattingly is walking away and it’s always possible that someone on staff gets offered a promotion with another club, but it’s notable that the Jays plan on keeping the group together as much as they can.

Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason, Managerial Vacancies, And More!

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • Munetaka Murakami to be posted for MLB clubs this offseason (2:20)
  • Ten teams will go into 2026 with a new manager, with eight of those jobs currently vacant (18:50)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Can the Mets get Tarik Skubal from the Tigers? (29:55)
  • Would Pete Alonso return to the Mets if they offered $150MM over five years? (38:20)
  • The White Sox have a lot of #4 or #5 starters. Which other teams might be interested in them? (40:00)
  • The Nationals have lots of outfielders, one of whom is 6’7″ tall, and no first baseman. Is it stupid to consider James Wood for first base? (44:20)
  • Will this finally be the Mariners’ year and can they keep Josh Naylor? (49:20)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Rockies’ Front Office Changes, Skip Schumaker, And ABS Talk – listen here
  • Mike Elias On The State Of The Orioles – listen here
  • The Tigers And Astros Try To Hang On, And Brewers’ Rotation Issues – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Munetaka Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason

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Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami is going to be posted by the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. It has long been expected that this would be the case, as it was reported three years ago that the plan was for Murakami to make the MLB move after 2025, but this report confirms that Murakami will be a key free agent to watch this winter.

The timing of the posting is not a coincidence. Under major league baseball’s international free agency rules, a player is considered an “amateur” if he is under the age of 25. These “amateur” players are subject to the international bonus pool system, wherein teams are hard-capped by annual budgets of roughly $4MM to $9MM. This was the case when Roki Sasaki was posted prior to his age-23 season. He eventually signed with the Dodgers and received a $6.5MM signing bonus, far less than he would have received with more open bidding. He is also treated like a minor leaguer, in that he will be making around the league minimum until he qualifies for arbitration and will be under club control until he accrues six years of big league service time.

Murakami won’t be in the same situation as Sasaki. He turned 25 in February will therefore be considered a professional under the current rules. Once he is officially posted, he will be free to negotiate with all 30 clubs for a period of 45 days and will have no restrictions on the kinds of offers he can receive. This situation is more analogous to that of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who also signed with the Dodgers. His 12-year, $325MM deal was in a far different stratosphere compared to Sasaki.

Sasaki was eager enough to come to Major League Baseball that he came young, despite the clearly lesser earning power with that path. Murakami has understandably waited until after his 25th birthday and should be in line for a nice payday.

What remains to be seen is exactly how strong his market will be. In his NPB career, he has shown massive power potential but also real strikeout concerns. He has generally been good for 30 to 40 homers per year, though he had a massive 56-homer season in 2022. This year, he missed a large chunk of the season due to an oblique injury and only got into 56 games, but he managed to launch 22 balls over the fence in that small sample.

He was also punched out 64 times in 224 plate appearances this year, a rate of 28.6%. He had that down to 20.6% during his amazing 2022 season but he’s been above 28% for three straight years now. Overall, he has hit .270/.394/.557 in his NPB career. Since MLB pitching features greater velocity and generally higher quality than NPB pitching, it’s possible his strikeout rate would increase with the move. For reference, the MLB average was 22.2% this year and there were only nine qualified hitters above 28%.

Murakami has primarily been a third baseman during his time with the Swallows. He has also dabbled at first base and even got a brief look in left field this year. Scouting reports have generally pegged him as a middling fielder who will likely end up at first base in the long run.

That will put more pressure on his bat but some clubs may be more comfortable with him playing third base for a few years. Teams will also have varying opinions about how he will be able to adapt to MLB pitching.

For players coming over from Japan, there have been all sorts of different results. As mentioned, Yamamoto had so much strong interest that he was able to secure a 12-year pact with opt-outs. Shota Imanaga got a creative four-year guarantee with a multi-year club option and player option structure after two seasons. Seiya Suzuki and Masataka Yoshida got straight five-year deals worth $85MM and $90MM respectively. Both of those hitters had better NPB batting averages than Murakami but without the same power ceiling.

Since the Dodgers have landed many Japanese stars, many fans expect that to be the outcome here. However, it’s not a perfect roster fit. The Dodgers have Freddie Freeman at first base and Shohei Ohtani in the designated hitter spot. They have an affordable $10MM club option to keep Max Muncy around as their third baseman next year. Signing Murakami can’t be totally ruled out but it may require them to move on from Muncy, who has been a cornerstone of the club for years and is still putting up good numbers, or perhaps try Murakami as an outfielder. Even if Muncy’s option is picked up, he’s slated for free agency after 2026, with Freeman only signed through 2027, so the long-term fit is better than in the short term.

The Red Sox would be a cleaner fit now, since Alex Bregman is likely to opt out of his deal and the club has questions at first base. The Mets have first base open with Pete Alonso set to opt out and they don’t have a clear answer at third base either. The Yankees could put him at first base, with Paul Goldschmidt becoming a free agent and Ben Rice capable of catching. The Cubs have Matt Shaw at third but almost signed Bregman last winter, so perhaps they are still willing to go after an external option there. The Tigers currently have Zach McKinstry at third but he’s capable of playing elsewhere. The Angels don’t have a long-term third base solution due to the ongoing injuries of Anthony Rendon. The Mariners are about to lose Eugenio Suárez to free agency. The Reds don’t have a definite answer at first base.

Over time, his market will become more clear. Whichever club signs him will also owe a posting fee to the Swallows. The posting fee is calculated as 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of spending above $50MM.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

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