Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns was in Japan on Tuesday to watch slugger Munetaka Murakami‘s game against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.
Murakami, a first baseman/third baseman for the Yakult Swallows, could be a free agent this offseason — making Stearns’ presence at his game potentially highly notable.
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And Murakami — who has dealt with injuries this season that have limited him to 14 games to this point — made a statement on Tuesday, smacking a walk-off home run.
Murakami, 25, has been a star during his eight seasons in NPB, slashing .273/.394/.543 with 246 home runs, 165 doubles, and 681 RBI.
His best power season came in 2022, when he smashed 56 homers and drove in 134.
The expectation is that Murakami will be posted this offseason. If so, he will be one of the most coveted free agents in a class that’s a bit weak on the position-player side when it comes to MLB players. Kyle Tucker and Pete Alonso (who is expected to opt out of the final year of his two-year deal) are expected to headline that class.
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In the event Alonso opts out and leaves as a free agent, it’s conceivable Murakami could be his replacement at first base.
But the Mets would have to beat out a slew of interested teams, including the Dodgers. Los Angeles has had a stranglehold on the Japanese market for years, including recent signings of Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto out of Japan, and the signing of Shohei Ohtani after he spent the first portion of his MLB career with the Angels.
