Which Teams Could Possibly Sign an 11-Year Veteran Japanese Slugger?
Most of the international free agency buzz has surrounded the Tokyo Yakult Swallows’ Munetaka Murakami. The buzz is warranted, as the combination of relative youth at 25 years old and left-handed power is hard to come by on the international stage. However, there is another premier Japanese player who could debut with an MLB team next season. It was recently announced that Kazuma Okamoto would be posted and made available for any of the 30 MLB teams to sign.
Okamoto has spent 11 years with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, also known as NPB. Similar to his fellow international free agent, Murakami, he primarily played third base and first base. He has built a reputation as one of the NPB’s most consistent power hitters, nearing or reaching 30 home runs in each season from 2018 to 2024. In the first half of the 2025 season, despite being healthy, he still managed to blast 15 home runs, meaning he would have been on pace for 30 home runs if he had played the whole season.
The 29-year-old has tallied some impressive numbers. He owns a .277 batting average, 248 home runs, and 717 runs batted in throughout his NPB career. There is always concern that international free agents initially have trouble with MLB pitching. However, with three more years of experience than Murakami, it could benefit him and the team he eventually lands with.
Big cities and markets like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago are always targets for international free agents. In recent years, the West Coast has become a popular destination. Although the scales seem tipped in favor of Los Angeles, there are other wonderful cities. Therefore, here are two teams, one in the AL West and one in the NL West, that could pursue the services of the 29-year-old corner infielder.
A strong choice would be the Seattle Mariners. The corner infielders of their 2025 ALCS run, Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor, are set to be free agents this offseason. If one of them does not return, or even the slim possibility that both of them do not return, investing in a player like Okamoto would make sense. Additionally, the Mariners and their fanbase also have an impeccable track record of incorporating international free agents from Japan and other Asian countries into their community.
If Okamoto wants to pave his own path with a franchise, the Arizona Diamondbacks are a great option. Even though the Diamondbacks have less experience with international free agents, he would get to compete in the wild NL West Division, constantly battling the group of his fellow countrymen playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After the departure of Suarez back to the Mariners, the Diamondbacks slotted Blaze Alexander to patrol third base for most of the remaining games. Alexander held his ground despite being thrown into a new position mid-season, but he is unlikely to be a long-term solution. Naylor was also a Diamondback for the first half of the season, and a large cast of players was called on to fill the void left at first base. Tim Tawa, Tyler Locklear, and Ildemaro Vargas all took turns, but none seemed to stick. Therefore, the 29-year-old Japanese slugger would fit in perfectly at either position.
