It’s never too early to look ahead to next off-season.

According to Yakyu Cosmopolitan, Japanese third baseman Munetaka Murakami signed a one-year deal with the Toyko Yakult Swallows. Interestingly, he noted that the 2025 season will be his last in Japan.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Munetaka Murakami and the Yakult Swallows agreed to a ¥600 million (~$4M) contract for the 2025 season.
“This will be my last season in Japan.”
 <a href="https://t.co/ORn32kaNiS">https://t.co/ORn32kaNiS</a>
&mdash; Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yakyucosmo/status/1863435049884176864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Murakami is 24 years old and will be 25 in early February. Unfortunately, his birthday is too late to be posted in the traditional sense this off-season, meaning he’d have to go through the international free agency. Next season, he and his team will benefit greatly as he can sign a deal with the same structure as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, for example, who signed a 12-year, $325 million deal last off-season.
That begs the question, what makes Murakami so intriguing? Well, the 24-year-old slashed .244/.379/.472 with 33 home runs in 610 plate appearances last season. In 2022, he slashed .318/.458/.711 with 56 home runs in 612 plate appearances for an insane 1.168 OPS. That year, he broke the home run record for Japanese-born players.
For his seven-year career in Nippon Professional Baseball, Murakami is slashing .272/.395/.534 with 241 home runs in 3,983 plate appearances, with a 25 K% and a 16.1 BB%. It’s clear that Murakami has power and loads of it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
A quick answer from Japan! 
Munetaka Murakami solo homer to tie this thing up! 🇯🇵 <a href="https://t.co/8CJJsoe1M2">pic.twitter.com/8CJJsoe1M2</a>
&mdash; FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1638329328512430080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Although he mainly plays third base in NPB, Yakyu Cosmopolitan believes that he’ll slide over to first base or designated hitter once he reaches Major League Baseball. That’s not a bad thing either, as his bat is his best tool without question.
This off-season is loaded with position player talent, like Juan Soto, Alex Bregman, Teoscar Hernández, and many others. Next season isn’t the case though, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is set to become the best free agent of the 2025-26 class (hopefully the Blue Jays re-sign him). Moreover, Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker are the next-best batters in what is a fairly weak free-agency class.
You have to imagine that all 30 teams will have interest in Murakami, as he’s a young power hitter who can play third base. That will be a fun player to track next off-season.
<hr />
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
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It’s never too early to look ahead to next off-season.



According to Yakyu Cosmopolitan, Japanese third baseman Munetaka Murakami signed a one-year deal with the Toyko Yakult Swallows. Interestingly, he noted that the 2025 season will be his last in Japan.

https://twitter.com/yakyucosmo/status/1863435049884176864?s=46

Murakami is 24 years old and will be 25 in early February. Unfortunately, his birthday is too late to be posted in the traditional sense this off-season, meaning he’d have to go through the international free agency. Next season, he and his team will benefit greatly as he can sign a deal with the same structure as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, for example, who signed a 12-year, $325 million deal last off-season.

That begs the question, what makes Murakami so intriguing? Well, the 24-year-old slashed .244/.379/.472 with 33 home runs in 610 plate appearances last season. In 2022, he slashed .318/.458/.711 with 56 home runs in 612 plate appearances for an insane 1.168 OPS. That year, he broke the home run record for Japanese-born players.

For his seven-year career in Nippon Professional Baseball, Murakami is slashing .272/.395/.534 with 241 home runs in 3,983 plate appearances, with a 25 K% and a 16.1 BB%. It’s clear that Murakami has power and loads of it.

https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1638329328512430080

Although he mainly plays third base in NPB, Yakyu Cosmopolitan believes that he’ll slide over to first base or designated hitter once he reaches Major League Baseball. That’s not a bad thing either, as his bat is his best tool without question.

This off-season is loaded with position player talent, like Juan Soto, Alex Bregman, Teoscar Hernández, and many others. Next season isn’t the case though, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is set to become the best free agent of the 2025-26 class (hopefully the Blue Jays re-sign him). Moreover, Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker are the next-best batters in what is a fairly weak free-agency class.

You have to imagine that all 30 teams will have interest in Murakami, as he’s a young power hitter who can play third base. That will be a fun player to track next off-season.

<hr />

As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

<hr />

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Nation Gear Black Friday Sale</h2>
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-80711 aligncenter" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2099/08/BJN-Article.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

Black Friday is HERE, Nation Citizens! 🏒 Score 15% off all your favorites, including the brand-new "My City" Collection and fresh drops you won’t want to miss. Whether you’re gifting a die-hard fan or upgrading your own game-day fit, Nation Gear has you covered. Spend over $200, and enjoy free shipping, too! 🛍️ But hurry—this one-week-only deal is live now! Shop exclusively at nationgear.ca and make this holiday season unforgettable!

Nippon Professional Baseball’s best power-hitter Munetaka Murakami set to play his final season in Japan in 2025

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