International star Kazuma Okamoto is already double digits in home runs after his first 35 Major League Baseball (MLB) games.
After playing 1,074 games for the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants in 11 Nippon Professional Baseball seasons, at 29, Okamoto agreed to a four-year contract with the Blue Jays worth US$60 million.
The Yomiuri Giants reportedly paid Okamoto the equivalent of US$4 million in 2025; thus, the deal with Toronto was lucrative for the infielder. Still, it doesn’t quite match the level of the premium MLB sluggers. His contract and the fact that last season Okamoto played in only 69 NPB games due to injuries made the international media quiet about his move to MLB.
Okamoto had his first international experience at 20, representing Carolina in the Puerto Rican Professional League in 2016-2017. He started 27 games at third base and five at first base and posted a .357 batting average.
He was a late bloomer at the NPB level. 2018 was his breakout season. He hit 33 home runs and posted a .309 batting average. He hit 30+ home runs for the next five seasons, topping 41 in 2023. He played in six All-Star Games and was the Central League Climax Series MVP in 2019.
Okamoto is putting together solid defensive numbers for the Blue Jays. He started 33 games at third base, one at first and one at DH and played one game out of the bench at first base,
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