A few weeks ago, we detailed the case for the Phillies to pursue Nippon Professional Baseball star Munetaka Murakami. The lefty slugger is sure to be the biggest name looking to make the jump from Japan
to the Major Leagues, but he won’t be the only Japanese star to be posted this winter.
In the time since it was reported that Murakami would indeed be posted, it was made official that the Yomiuri Giants would be posting Kazuma Okamoto, their star corner infielder. Okamoto is a 29-year-old right-handed hitter who has primarily played third base in 11 seasons for the Giants. He owns a career .277/.361/.521 batting line with 248 home runs across 1,074 NPB games. He led all of NPB in home runs three times in his career, topped the 30 homer mark each year between 2018-2023, and hit a career high 41 homers in 2023. Below is a highlight reel from his 2024 season.
Okamoto also played in the 2023 World Baseball classic and hit .333 with a 1.278 OPS in 7 games played. He added two home runs, including this one off of Kyle Freeland of Team USA in the championship game.
Okamoto’s 2025 season was cut short due to an elbow injury that limited him to just 77 games played, but he still hit quite well in those games, sporting a .322 AVG and a .992 OPS with 15 home runs. He’s played over 600 career games at third base, winning a Gold Glove there in 2021 and 2022, and over 400 at first base, winning a Gold Glove there in 2024. Despite this, there isn’t quite a consensus on where his best fit on the diamond would be in MLB.
Okamoto may not have the raw power that Murakami possesses, but he does boast better contact skills. He had a contact rate over 70% in each of the last eight years while still being selective with a swing rate around 45%. Okamoto likely doesn’t have the 35+ HR power potential of Murakami, but there is a good argument to be made that Okamoto may be the better overall hitter in MLB.
The Athletic’s Jim Bowden projects that Okamoto is in line for a four year, $90M deal when he is officially posted this winter. That is much less than the six years and $190M that is projected for Murakami, but a large part of that is due to Okamoto being 29 while Murakami is 25. Still, that deal is right in line with the five year, $85M deal signed by Seiya Suzuki with the Cubs back in 2022 when Suzuki was 27. In case you were wondering, Suzuki owned a .315/.414/.570 career line in 9 NPB seasons when he made the jump to MLB.
Like with Murakami, pursuing Okamoto would necessitate the Phillies moving on from Alec Bohm. But there’s perhaps a better chance that Okamoto would at least be serviceable at third base, thus not requiring any further moves for the Phillies’ MLB roster. Top prospect Aidan Miller would lose his easiest path to the Majors, but that’s something that could be addressed later on either in a trade of Miller or of Bryson Stott.
It’s well known that the Phillies have been putting on a near full-court press to try and break into the Asian market for players. They weren’t able to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto despite having the biggest offer, but it hasn’t stopped them from continually trying to bypass their geographical disadvantages. Recently, the Phillies reportedly tried to sign Japanese prospect Yuma Masaki, but Masaki chose to sign with the Seibu Lions after they selected him in the NPB draft.
So, should the Phillies pursue Kazuma Okamoto? Is he the right-handed bat they’ve been craving and their first major Japanese signing all in one? Or are they better off focusing on Murakami? Would they be better off focusing their efforts elsewhere entirely?
