The slugger Japanese Munetaka Murakami will be posted this Friday by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, opening their negotiation window with the 30 MLB teams. The young slugger, one of the biggest stars in Japanese baseball, could become the next big Japanese sensation in the Major Leagues.
Powerful Japanese third baseman Munetaka Murakami is ready to take his talents to the Major Leagues. As reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows will officially place him in the posting system this Friday, allowing all 30 MLB teams to negotiate with him.
The process will begin on Saturday, when the 45-day negotiating window opens, and must conclude with a deal by 5 pm ET on December 22, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Since Murakami has played less than nine seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), he cannot directly access free agency and must go through the international transfer system.
At 25 years old, Murakami already has an impressive record in Japan: 892 games, 246 home runs and an OPS of .951, including a historic campaign in 2022, when he hit 56 home runs — a record for a Japanese player — and became, at just 22 years old, the youngest Triple Crown champion in league history.
In addition, he was a key piece in Japan’s title in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, standing out with a golden double in the semifinal against Mexico and a home run in the final against the United States.
Among the teams that have shown interest in his signing are the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants. Even the Toronto Blue Jays have closely followed his development for years, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.
The club that manages to hire Murakami must pay a transfer fee to the Yakult Swallows, calculated based on a percentage of the total value of the contract, including bonuses and options.
With his batting power, youth and international experience, Murakami could be the next big Japanese phenomenon in the MLB, following in the footsteps of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
