It didn’t take too long for Kazuma Okamoto to show off his power at the plate.
Okamoto, 29, crushed his first home run in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform in his second spring training appearance off New York Mets right-hander Clay Holmes on Monday.
The Japanese slugger took a sweeper from Holmes 431 feet to centre field with a 103.4 m.p.h. exit velocity.
Toronto signed Okamoto to a four-year, $60-million deal on Jan. 4 after he spent his entire 11-year career with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. During Okamoto’s time in Japan, he was a career .277 hitter with 248 home runs, 717 runs batted in and a .521 slugging percentage.
The Blue Jays have been using Okamoto at third base and batting him sixth in the lineup.
Okamoto will be a part of Japan’s roster for the World Baseball Classic.
