Japanese star third baseman Munetaka Murakami is entering the posting system on Friday, sources told ESPN, officially starting the process of one of the most anticipated free agencies of the winter.
Murakami, 25, owns the single-season home run record as a Japanese player in Nippon Professional Baseball, hitting 56 in 2022, breaking Sadaharu Oh’s record of 55, set in 1964. A prolific power hitter, Murakami left the Tokyo Yakult Swallows with 246 home runs in his eight seasons in Japan.
There is expected to be widespread interest in his slow-hitting ability among Major League Baseball teams this winter. Murakami’s 45-day signing period will begin at 8 a.m. ET on Saturday, ensuring he will sign with a big league team before it ends at 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 22, sources said.
Murakami, who can also play first base, is one of the gems of a deep class of players coming from Asia this winter. Others expected to join MLB teams through the posting system – which facilitates the transfer of players whose rights teams still control MLB from Japan and Korea – and international free agency include right-hander Tatsuya Imai, first baseman Kazuma Okamoto and right-hander Kona Takahashi. Right-handed players are also expected to return to MLB Cody PonceJoe went 17–1 with a 1.89 ERA in the Korea Baseball Organization, and was a left-hander. Spinach Griffin And Anthony’sBoth pitched in Japan.
Murakami, a left-handed hitter, played in only 56 games this year due to an oblique injury but still hit 22 home runs with a .273/.379/.663 slash line. While concerns over his propensity to strike out and especially his in-zone swing-and-miss rate will give teams pause, Murakami’s age and upside are so attractive that his free agency is expected to turn into a frenzy.
The involvement of Japanese players has increased the enthusiasm in the last two championships. shohei ohtani And yoshinobu yamamoto are leading los angeles dodgers To win the World Series. Los Angeles guaranteed more than $1 billion to sign Ohtani as a free agent and offloaded Yamamoto from the Orix Buffaloes through the posting system.
MLB teams signing players via posting must pay a fee to the Asian team to which the player transfers: 20% for the first $25 million, 17.5% for the next $25 million, and an additional 15% on every dollar above $50 million.
Murakami is widely expected to receive a nine-figure deal, plus a posting fee of at least $16.9 million. Sources said high-ranking MLB executives watched several of Murakami’s games this season and were impressed.
In his eight seasons with the Swallows after his debut at age 18, Murakami hit .270/.394/.557 with a walk rate over 16% and a strikeout rate near 26%.
