Which NPB player best suits the Blue Jays needs for 2026 and beyond?

Kazuma Okamoto, Muetaka Murakami, Tatsuya Imai. Three names that may not be well known at the moment in North America, but could very well be spoken in the same breadth as Shota Imanaga, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki by this time next year.

All three players from Nippon Professional Baseball will be posted this offseason and all three are attracting attention for their potential to make an impact with a team in the MLB. And while all three could be difference makers, there's just as many positives for the Toronto Blue Jays to pursue each one as there are reasons to be concerned with each player.

Which NPB player best suits the Blue Jays needs for 2026 and beyond?

Tatsuya Imai - RHP, Saitama Seibu Lions

Scouts are comparing Imai to Kodai Senga, who signed with the Mets for five years and $75 million prior to the 2023 season. Senga was an All-Star in his first year in MLB but has dealt with injuries on and off for the last two seasons. When he's been healthy, he's been very good, as he's been worth 6.7 bWAR with a 3.00 ERA, 320 strikeouts and 285 innings pitched in 52 games. That's a great comparison for anyone looking to sign Imai as he's coming off back to back seasons of over 160 innings pitched, with at least 170 strikeouts and an ERA under 2.40.

He utilizes a four pitch mix and all four pitches could play well in MLB, but the knock is that Imai struggles with his command. He's posted a 4.40 BB/9 over his eight seasons of professional baseball in Japan. At 27-years-old, Imai should still have tons of gas in the tank and the fact that Toronto already has a dominant top three suits them well if they want to pursue Imai.

For the Blue Jays they wouldn't need Imai to be their ace and a lot of baseball experts are projecting that Imai might only "at best" be a number two or three starter. With Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage already locked in for the rotation, adding Imai to the mix only deepens the starting depth.

Munetaka Murakami , 1B/3B, Yakult Swallows

The 26-year-old left handed hitter is one of the best power hitters in Japan, having hit 24 home runs or more in each of the last seven seasons. That includes his 56 homer campaign from 2022 when he was 22. The Blue Jays proved they didn't need an absolute slugger to get to 94 wins in the regular season, but having a guy on the team that can provide that pop, never hurts.

However, what should concern the Blue Jays with Murakami is a couple of things; he's shown an ability to get fooled by off-speed pitches, and his defense is suspect at best. His strikeouts numbers have climbed the last two years with 248 K's in 283 games combined in 2024 and '25. While he consistently hits the ball at 115 mph, which ranks him in the 95th percentile compared to MLB players, he also had a 29% strikeout rate in 2025 and whiffed on almost half the secondary pitches he saw.

According to Buster Olney of ESPN, insiders also believe that Murakami can't play third base and he would be at best an average first baseman. For Toronto, who prides itself on finding guys who are above average defenders who can have upside bats, signing Murakami would go against the grain. They already have Anthony Santander under contract as well as George Springer and neither guy emotes the most confidence when deployed in a corner outfield spot. Sure they can get by starting those guys a couple of times a week, but if they have to add in Murakami getting significant DH time, that may complicate things further.

Still, at just 26-years-old, maybe they look at Murakami as player who is finished his offensive development but still working on his glove. The Blue Jays have no shortage of left handed hitters who could be every day players with Santander (a switch hitter) Daulton Varsho, Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes and Andrés Giménez. Adding Murakami could deepen the lineup, but also over complicate the defensive structure.

Kazuma Okamoto, 1B/3B, Yomiuri Giants

Okamoto is the eldest of this group. At 29-years-old he plays the same positions as Murakami and has a similar profile, just from the right side of the plate. He's hit no less than 27 home runs over the last seven years before an elbow injury limited him this past season to 69 games. Still, in those 69 contests he managed 15 home runs - very similar to what Varsho did this season in Toronto.

The difference between the two is that Okamoto has a much better eye at the plate. He has a 90th percentile or better walk rate in each of the last three seasons and his OBP has never dropped below .330 in a single year outside of his rookie campaign in 2015. Unfortunately, like Murakami, the defense seems to be the issue, with insiders saying he can't stay at third base long term.

The Blue Jays could be set at the corners for the next little while with the likes of Barger and Ernie Clement at the hot corner and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base. But if they think that Okamoto would be a significant upgrade, he may be the safer play than Murakami since he has more of a track record and has proven to be able to hit a better mix of pitches.

The best bang for your buck at the moment for the Blue Jays is probably adding Imai to a rotation that already feels relatively deep as there may be more surefire options for the Blue Jays lineup within the current domestic market.