Kazuma Okamoto and Munetaka Murakami will find themselves in vastly different situations during the 2026 MLB season.

Okamoto has signed with a Toronto Blue Jays team that is coming off a Game 7 extra innings loss in the World Series. This is a club with massive expectations. Murakami joins a Chicago White Sox group that is coming off one of the worst two-season runs in MLB history. A little different as far as pressure goes.

Both of the highly touted imports from Japan could make big impacts in Major League Baseball.

But for Okamoto, things are a little different. He’s being counted on to carry a major mantle right from the start.

In essence, he replaces Bo Bichette in the Toronto lineup. Positions got shifted around to accommodate Okamoto at third base, but essentially, Bichette is out and Okamoto is in.

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Okamoto signed for four years and $60 million with the Blue Jays. Bichette left for the New York Mets and a contract worth $126 million over three years (with a pair of opt-outs built in).

For the Blue Jays to reach similar heights to last year, Okamoto will have to deliver on at least some of his promise. And with that in mind, MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson called Okamoto the Blue Jays’ “biggest unknown” for the season ahead.

“We know the type of player Okamoto can be, but how quickly can that translate from Japan to the big leagues?” Matheson writes. “Okamoto comes over from the Yomiuri Giants with a reputation as a power hitter, and he flashed that talent in Spring Training, but the World Baseball Classic cut into how much of Okamoto we got to see. One encouraging takeaway, at least, is that he’s looked very comfortable at third base, which would allow the Blue Jays to play Addison Barger more regularly in the outfield and stretch their lineup. There aren’t many players on this roster who can change this team’s trajectory as much as Okamoto could in 2026.”

Okamoto seems to have a more reliable floor to his game than Murakami, who has a ton of swing-and-miss concern. Even if Okamoto doesn’t tap into all of his power, he’s expected to put the ball in play reliably.

Some have compared him to Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who has a very similar swing and has experienced solid success since arriving in MLB.

If Okamoto can be Suzuki or better, the Blue Jays will be very happy to have signed him.

If the unknown factors in Okamoto’s performance turn out to be a major step back from Toronto’s 2025 production out of Bichette and company, it could ruin the Blue Jays’ hopes, though. The AL East Division is too strong for Toronto to excel without positive play from Okamoto.

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