The Toronto Blue Jays came up just short in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Now, the goal for the offseason should be finding ways to add even more firepower to the organization. Toronto has proved that it can make a deep run with this core. It’s just a matter of adding more now. One guy the team reportedly has some interest in with the offseason starting up is Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, per Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.
“Murakami has tons of power albeit with his share of swing and miss,” Nicholson-Smith wrote. “Given their presence in the Pacific Rim, the Blue Jays have tracked Murakami for years. There’s some interest, as you’d expect for a player of his level. Some also see NYY as a team to watch on him.”
What’s intriguing about Murakami is his power. He has been playing professional baseball since 2018 as a member of the Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball. Murakami has crushed 265 home runs in 1,003 games, including 56 homers in 2022.
Adding a bat like that at just 25 years old is a fun idea, although the fit isn’t great on paper. He can play first and third base, although it has been said over and over that first base would be a better fit for him in the majors. The Blue Jays are obviously set at first base with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. So, if the Blue Jays were to actually target Murakami and bring him to town, something would have to be done to make the infield fit work.
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