Munetaka Murakami’s move to Major League Baseball is one step closer to becoming a reality, with the Yakult Swallows set to post their star third baseman.
Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Murakami’s posting will become official on Friday.
Passan added the 45-day window for MLB teams to negotiate a deal with Murakami will open on Saturday, meaning the latest a deal can get done is Dec. 23 before he is returned to Yakult for the 2026 season.
This move has been expected for some time, as Murakami just finished his age-25 season in NPB and is no longer subject to international bonus restrictions.
Murakami’s power will likely make him very attractive to many teams looking to add a potential middle-of-the-order hitter to their lineup. He set the NPB single-season record with 56 homers in 2022.
Since 2019, his first full season at the highest level of NPB, Murakami has hit .270/.394/.557 with 246 homers in 892 games. He was limited to just 69 games this season due to an oblique injury, but still hit 24 homers for Yakult.
One potential downside for Murakami in MLB is he has already shown a propensity to swing and miss. The two-time Central League MVP struck out at least 115 times in six consecutive seasons from 2019 to ’24, including 180 punchouts in 610 plate appearances during the 2024 campaign.
Passan noted the expectation is Murakami will land a “nine-figure deal” from an MLB club, not including the posting fee that would cost the signing team at least $16.9 million.
Teams rumored to have at least some level of interest in Murakami include the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres.
MLB’s posting system requires teams to pay a release fee of 20 percent of the first $25 million plus 17.5 percent of next $25 million plus 15 percent of the total guaranteed value exceeding $50 million” for any Major League contracts worth more than $50 million in guaranteed money.
Since MLB implemented the current posting rules after the 2018 season, the richest deal signed by a position player was Masataka Yoshida’s five-year, $90 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.
A potential nine-figure deal for Murakami would surpass Yoshida’s record.
The richest contract for any Japanese player under the current system was Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 12-year, $325 million pact with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s also the largest deal ever given to a pitcher, surpassing Gerrit Cole’s nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees.
