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The Seattle Mariners are coming off winning the American League West in 2025. Moreover, Seattle fell one game shy of reaching the World Series, losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games. As a result, the Mariners have a lot to do this offseason if they want to get to the Fall Classic.
Early in the offseason, the Mariners didn’t waste time securing one of their own free agents. Seattle signed Josh Naylor to a five-year contract to return to the Pacific Northwest.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on November 16, citing sources, that the Mariners signed Naylor through the 2030 season. Furthermore, his contract includes a full no-trade clause and is worth $92.5 million with no deferrals.
With Naylor done, MLB insider Mark Feinsand believes that the next target for Seattle should be Japanese free agent star Munetaka Murakami.
“I know everybody loves to connect Japanese free agents to the Mariners because of the Ichiro [Suzuki] connection, but they haven’t really dipped into that market very heavily in the last 10 to 15 years,” Feinsand said in a video from the MLB Network posted on December 5. “They had some guys earlier in the century, but not recently.
“That said, Murakami is a great fit there. They need to replace Eugenio Suárez at third base — big power bat. Murakami was one of the best home run hitters in Japan. It seems like a good fit.”
There’s One Issue in Mariners, Munetaka Murakami Fit
While Feinsand notes that Murakami makes sense for the Mariners because of the Japanese connection, or lack thereof in recent years, to needing a power bat to replace the outgoing Suárez, he does see one problem.
“The only question I have on this fit: A lot of people look at Murakami and think, ultimately, he’s the first baseman in the big league,” Feinsand added. “They just signed Josh Naylor to a five-year deal.
“So unless you’re potentially going to look at him maybe as a DH or either one of them as a DH, unless you believe in Murakami as a long-term third baseman, that would be the only hang-up here.”
MLB Front Offices Have Concerns Over Munetaka Murakami
Murakami appeared in only 56 games this season due to an oblique injury, but still managed 22 home runs, posting a .273/.379/.663 slash line. Nonetheless, in an ESPN article from December 5, Buster Olney states that while the player has significant upside, teams still have concerns over him.
“There’s a lot of talk among teams about Murakami, the free agent corner infielder who is making his way from Japan — and skepticism, in some front offices, about how his skill set will play in the big leagues, given his big swing-and-miss profile and the perception that his defense could be a problem,” Olney wrote. “But all he needs in this bidding is for one team (or more) to fall in love with his big-time power.”
Moreover, in that same article, Passan revealed the potential timeline of when Murakami will sign a deal with an MLB team.
“Munetaka Murakami is more likely to sign in the period between the meetings and holidays,” Passan wrote.
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. He previously covered the league for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has contributed as a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He also served as an editor for Athlon Sports and Heavy Sports focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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