I think we can all agree that the Pittsburgh Pirates have had a successful offseason thus far — signing Ryan O-Hearn and trading for Brandon Lowe — but they could really put the cherrry on the Sundae if they manage to sign Japanese first baseman/ third baseman Kazuma Okamoto in the coming days, and the MLB scuttlebutt is heating up for the Okamoto to Pittsburgh rumors.
According to various posts on Twitter (it’s hot enough to earn it’s own Twitter News post), the Bucs have a four-year, $64 million
offer in on Okamoto, which is currently the best offer among the top three teams vying for his services: Pirates, Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres.
Some reports say an Okamoto signing is imminent, while other say to have caution until January 4, when the signing deadline occurs. The Bucs offer also reportedly contains incentives up to $70 million.
While this is still in the rumor phase, it’s been a while since the Bucs were the head newsmakers in reports such as this, and that’s certainly a good thing. In addition, the Bucs recent aggression in improving the team also has side effects such as this — convincing other good players to consider coming to town.
The 29-year-old Okamoto hit .327 last year in Japan, with 15 homers and 51 RBIs. Before that, he averaged 33 dingers per year from 2018-2024, so he would certainly bring some more pop to the Pittsburgh lineup.
We’ll do our best to keep an eye on the happenings over the next few days, but this sounds like it could drag out another week yet until next Sunday’s deadline. Either way, it seems as though the Bucs are officially a player again in the MLB Hot Stove.
