Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports
One of the bigger names available on the free agent market this offseason in baseball comes from the NPB. Infielder Munetaka Murakami was posted to come over to the United States recently, and now he is free to sign with any team.
Murakami is seen as a true power threat by multiple teams, and he has All-Star potential. There have been a few teams heavily linked to him this winter, and we could see a bidding war take place to land him.
However, just like many other Japanese players to come over, Murakami has struggled with hitting velocity. The infielder struck out 41.7 percent of the time against fastballs faster than 93 mph, which is a cause for concern as he comes to the big leagues.
Murakami will need to learn the speed of the game on the fly, essentially, otherwise teams will expose him very quickly. But despite this, Murakami still came over with some very impressive accomplishments during his tenure in the NPB.
When he was just 21 years old, Murakami took home the Central League MVP award. The infielder then followed that up in 2022 by slashing 318/.458/.710 with 56 home runs, breaking a record for most home runs by a Japanese player, winning the Triple Crown in the process.
His numbers have come back down to earth a little over the past few seasons, but he was still able to produce at a high level. The overall potential of Murakami remains very high, and teams can see the raw power that he has.
This should help him earn a nice contract, and any team would be lucky to sign him. But where he may land remains unknown, and multiple teams are in play for his services.
This is just a prediction, NOT a report!
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One team that has been linked to Murakami this offseason is the Seattle Mariners. Seattle is coming off a season that saw it come within one game of making the World Series, and the pressure is on this team to continue building.
Adding a player like Murakami to the mix could be special, and he wouldn’t have all the pressure on him to succeed right away. Due to the loaded roster that the Mariners currently have, Murakami could ease into things while also helping this team out greatly.
The Mariners are an interesting option for Murakami since he could be following in the footsteps of the legendary Ichiro Suzuki, who is massively famous in Japan. Seattle gets linked with many Japanese players due to Suzuki, and Murakami could be the next to follow suit.
Overall, Murakami could be a solid addition to the Mariners, especially since they do have a need at third base right now. Seattle is an attractive landing spot, and the Mariners could give themselves a better chance to win next season with this potential move.