Should the Blue Jays try to flex their international spending power on this Japanese slugger?

It's official: the NPB star, who's coined the nickname of 'The Japanese Babe Ruth', has officially been posted today, meaning his 45-day negotiating window with MLB teams starts tomorrow, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.

A year ago, when the word began spreading that Munetaka Murakami was expected to head over to MLB in 2026, he instantly became one of the biggest named players in the NPB. He's not unknown, but he's been hard to define, considering he's been playing for the Yakult Swallows of the NPB for the last eight years .

Should the Blue Jays try to flex their international spending power on this Japanese slugger?

The résumé is outrageous for the 25-year-old: he's a left-handed slugger who once broke the NPB single-season home run record (56) for a Japanese-born player while also bringing home a Triple Crown during the process. However, there’s another side to Murakami, as he sports a concerning strikeout trend that have made scouts pause before writing their final grade on their scouting report.

His elite raw power and on base percentage ability shines bright, but his strikeout and swing-and-miss issues, paired with his 63.9% contact rate, lower his potential. In 2025 he produced a 36.7% whiff rate and a 28.6% strikeout rate, but the high-end power helps to balance it all out.

His power is clear and explosive, but he'll need to learn how to access it a bit more. The potential is more than present though, as in his best year of NPB ball, 2022, he put up video game numbers. The slugger slashed .318/.458/.710 with a 1.168 OPS, 56 bombs, and 134 RBI.

The third baseman flexed his muscles in the 2023 WBC. Against the United States team, he notably demolished a no-doubter off of Merrill Kelly during the championship game, a ball that travelled 432 feet with an exit velocity of a scorching 115.1 mph.

That 115.1 mph exit velocity would have ranked within the top 20 of the hardest-hit balls in MLB this season, with Ohtani, Soto, and Schwarber as some notable left-handers who were able to hit it harder, but not by much.

This year, Murakami played just 56 games, as he was recovering from an oblique injury which sidelined him for quite some time. That said, upon his return he provided an abundance of massive swings, going on an absolute tear. He hit 22 home runs in his 56 games, which is a ridiculous pace, especially for a player who's returning from a significant injury.

In the NPB, they play 143 games, which means he was on pace to break his home run record, projected to hit approximately 56 homers once again, if it wasn't for the injury. Murakami finished in the top five in home runs despite playing just a third of the games compared to the players in front of him.

On the defensive side of the ball, this is considered a weakness, with ratings often placing him as a below-average fielder. While he primarily played third base in Japan (53 out of his 56 games played), his defensive limitations include a lack of arm range, making him better suited for first base or as a designated hitter in MLB. In terms of the Blue Jays defensive logjam, as it stands he'd be splitting time with Addison Barger and Ernie Clement at third base, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first.

Murakami's strikeout questions are real, and his defensive fit isn’t perfect, but the massive offensive upside and power is clearly there, If the Blue Jays are serious about making another run at the World Series, this is the kind of swing they have to be willing to take. Over his eight years in the NPB, he has played 892 games, averaging .270 with 246 home runs, 647 RBI, and a .951 OPS while bringing home the Rookie of the Year, Triple Crown, and MVP (twice) along the way.