An added wrinkle to MLB free agency this offseason came with the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) posting Munetaka Murakami.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been connected to Murakami at various points, and not just because of their on-field success as back-to-back World Series champions and by seemingly establishing a foothold in Japan behind the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
But also due to Murakami wearing a Dodgers hat in a picture that was posted to social media this past January.
Despite some initial conclusions being made, the Dodgers don’t appear to be involved in the Murakami sweepstakes, according to David Vassegh:
“Have not heard any buzz about the the Dodgers and Murakami. The one thing that I’ve heard is that he doesn’t hit velocity. So, similar to what the Dodgers did with Kim when they had to rework his swing to be able to compete against high velocity in Major League Baseball.”
The Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants were expected to have interest in the left-handed slugger.
Murakami just completed an eighth season in the NPB and brings with him a power bat. However, there are concerns over his contact rate and ability to handle high velocity.
Some projections have comped Murakamai to Nolan Gorman on the lower side, Joey Gallo in the 50th percentile outcome, and Adam Dunn on the higher-end of possibilities.
Murakami was limited to 56 games in his potential final season with the Swallows because of an oblique injury, but he still batted .273/.379/.663 with 22 doubles and 47 RBI.
Overall in his NPB career, Murakami has hit .270/.394/.557 with 246 home runs and 647 RBI. Murakami broke the home run record for a Japanese player in NPB when he slugged 56 in 2022, surpassing Sadaharu Oh’s record of 55 that he set in 1964.
Murakami additionally won the Triple Crown that season, becoming the youngest player in NPB history to do so at the age of 22.
Munetaka Murakami posting window details
Murakami getting posted in early November marked the start of a 45-day window for teams to negotiate a contract. Murakami faces a signing deadline of 2 p.m. PT on Monday, Dec. 22.
If he has not signed with an MLB team by that point, Murakami will return to the Swallows and stay in the NPB for at least one more season.
Any team that signs Murakami will be required to pay a fee to the Swallows that is in the amount of 20% for the first $25 million of a perspective contract, 17.5% for the next $25 million, and an additional 15% on every dollar above $50 million.
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