Making sense of Murakami’s market as deadline looms

As the clock on Munetaka Murakami’s posting window continues to tick toward Monday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline, the market for the Japanese slugger had not started to crystalize as of this week. There hasn't been much concrete news on where his market stands or which clubs have the most interest in him, so it's hard to know where things stand for the 25-year-old slugger.

Most teams view him as a first baseman despite the fact that he played roughly three-fourths of his games for the Yakult Swallows at third. Murakami’s power has been praised by talent evaluators -- most of whom believe that skill will translate from Japan to the Majors -- but his massive strikeout rates in Nippon Professional Baseball have been somewhat alarming.

Although there has been little buzz surrounding potential suitors for Murakami, there are a handful that could make sense:

• The Red Sox missed out on both Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso, and while Murakami isn’t a proven commodity, he’s one of the few true power bats available.
• The Padres have Jake Cronenworth – a constant subject of trade rumors – penciled in at first base, and San Diego’s lineup had the third-lowest strikeout rate in the Majors in 2025. That low strikeout rate, however, was put together in large part to Luis Arraez's MLB-best 3.1 K%, and there's no guarantee Arraez, who's a free agent, will be with the club next season.

• The Cubs were another team that ranked well in strikeout rate (sixth-lowest in the Majors), and Chicago has dipped into the Japanese market in recent years for both Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga. Murakami would likely fit into the lineup as the DH, while he could spell Michael Busch and Matt Shaw to give them a DH day from time to time.

• The Angels have a need at third base and could use another home run threat after trading Taylor Ward. Depending on how Murakami looks at the hot corner, he could ultimately move to first base or DH. One potential snag: The Angels last year had the Majors' highest strikeout rate, which would likely climb higher with Murakami.

• The Diamondbacks were connected to Alex Bregman this week, but Murakami could be a solid fit at either corner-infield spot for Arizona, which had the seventh-best strikeout rate last season.

• The Pirates have been active in free agency in an effort to spend, but they came up short with their bids for both Kyle Schwarber and Josh Naylor. Murakami would provide the power threat Pittsburgh desperately needs.

If Murakami is unable to come to a deal with a big league team, he would return to Japan for the 2026 season and could be posted by Yakult again next winter, though sources don’t believe that scenario will take place.