NY Mets: What stood out about Pete Alonso breaking team home run record
Pete Alonso proved himself to be the Mets franchise’s preeminent power hitter when he set the club record with his 253rd home run on Aug. 13, 2025.
There is a power-hitting slugger on the Mets’ free agent radar and his name is not Pete Alonso.
Last August, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns ventured to Japan to get a glimpse of Munetaka Murakami, the 25-year-old corner infielder who once won Nippon Professional Baseball’s Triple Crown.
Now, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Murakami is coming to Major League Baseball after being posted by the Yakult Swallows.
The left-handed hitting Murakami is the gem of the international free agent market heading into the 2026 out of Japana after Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki signed with the Dodgers in consecutive years out of the NPB and aided in back-to-back World Series crowns.
Murakami has the Mets’ attention with his big bat and ability to play multiple positions on the infield dirt.
Last season, despite working through an oblique injury, Murakami slashed .273/.379/.663 with 22 home runs, 47 RBI and 43 runs in 56 games. Before 2025, he had delivered at least 30 home runs in five of his previous six seasons, including in 2022 when at 22 years old he set league highs in home runs (56), RBI (134) and batting average (.318).
Murakami played 63 games at third base, eight at first base and three in the outfield last season. Over the last four seasons, Murakami has spent the majority of his time at third base, but he spent 2019 and 2020 predominantly at first base.
For the second straight offseason, the Mets have an unsettled situation at first base heading into the new year. Pete Alonso, who won his first Silver Slugger Award last season with 38 home runs, 126 RBI and a .272 batting average, opted out of the second year of his contract to explore free agency for a second straight season.
It appeared that the Mets had found their future third baseman entering the 2025 season following Mark Vientos’ revelatory 2024 season but he struggled one season later, with a .702 OPS, 17 home runs, 63 RBI, 115 strikeouts and shaky defense.
By the end of the season, Brett Baty was receiving the lion’s share of the reps at third base and Vientos was resigned to irregular time and more time at designated hitter.
Murakami could potentially provide some relief at both spots and is an intriguing high-upside option if Alonso decides to go elsewhere. He will have 45 days to agree with a MLB team.
In his final press conference of the 2025 season, Stearns underscored the need for better run-prevention as the Mets move past a disappointing campaign.
Murakami does not have the most polished glove himself, committing six errors in 117 chances last season. His best fielding season at third base was 2021 when he posted a .957 fielding percentage and still committed 13 errors. He might be more polished at first base, where he has committed only 11 errors in 266 games across seven seasons.
Despite boasting dynamic offensive potential at the plate, Murakami still presents as a somewhat feast-or-famine hitter. He struck out 27 percent of the time last season and 180 times in 143 games in 2024.